10:49 am, September 4, 2026
Britain’s new car market has recorded its ninth consecutive month of growth in what was the strongest August this century.
New figures from the SMMT show that registrations rose 13.7% to 94,236 in the ninth month of the year, making it the strongest August since the introduction of the twice-yearly number plate change way back in 1999.
Despite the month traditionally being a quiet one for the industry, every sales channel grew compared with the same month last year.
Private registrations increased by 19% to account for 40.8% of the market, while fleet sales rose 10.1% and represented 57.2% of registrations.
Business registrations also increased, climbing 14.5% to make up 2% of the market.
All powertrains apart from petrol saw increases, with plug-in hybrids experiencing the largest amount of growth through a rise of 39.8% to account for 14.5 % of registrations.
Registration of electric vehicles, meanwhile, rose by 27.7% to take 29.8% of the market. Petrol, in contrast, dropped by 3.5% but still occupied 45.1% of the market.
BEV uptake has now reached 25.6% for the first eight months of the year, a record high but still below the 33% headline target under the government’s ZEV mandate.
The Ford Puma was the best-selling model of the month with 2,795 registrations, ahead of the Jaecoo 7 in second on 2,022.
The Puma also remains top of the year-to-date charts with 35,968 registrations, well clear of the Kia Sportage on 30,564.
The most popular BEV was the Tesla Model 3, which sold 1,296 units in August.
The SMMT says manufacturers aee continuing to offer incentives and discounts to encourage buyers to switch to electric vehicles but warned that concerns over price and charging remain major hurdles.
SMMT boss Mike Hawes said: ‘August was a bright spot for the new car market and another strong month for electric car uptake, showing that motorists are responding to the huge choice and compelling offers available.
‘But August is a low-volume month, so September will be the acid test. The industry is doing everything it can to help drivers switch, but mandate targets must be grounded in the reality of demand.
‘Government’s review is the right move so we can ensure the transition is kept on track, consumer choice protected and the jobs and investment necessary to deliver net zero and economic growth are safeguarded.’