UK New Car Registrations 1990–2025

UK Car Registration Trends: From Peak Diesel to the Electric Mandate

The UK new car market has undergone a structural transformation over the past decade. Annual registrations climbed steadily through the early 2000s, driven by cheap PCP finance deals and a strong economy, before peaking at 2.69 million units in 2016. That year marked the high-water mark for both total volume and diesel's market share, which stood at nearly 48%.

The Volkswagen emissions scandal, first exposed in September 2015, planted the seeds of diesel's decline. By 2017 the shift was unmistakable: diesel registrations fell by over five percentage points in a single year. Government policy amplified the trend, with higher first-year VED rates for diesel from April 2018, the expansion of Clean Air Zones across major cities, and the headline announcement that sales of new petrol and diesel cars would be banned from 2030.

The COVID-19 pandemic added another shock, cutting 2020 registrations to just 1.63 million — the lowest figure since the early 1990s. Showroom closures, supply chain disruptions and the global semiconductor shortage meant the market did not begin to recover until late 2022. Even now, registrations remain around 30% below the 2016 peak, partly because the second-hand market has absorbed some demand and leasing cycles have lengthened.

While overall volumes have fallen, the fuel type composition has changed dramatically. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) went from a niche 1.1% share in 2015 to 22.8% in 2025. Including plug-in hybrids and conventional hybrids, electrified powertrains now account for over 60% of new registrations. This acceleration is being driven by the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires manufacturers to hit escalating BEV sales targets or face fines of up to £15,000 per non-compliant car.

The mandate has produced visible market effects. Manufacturers are offering aggressive finance deals and cashback incentives on electric models to hit their quotas, making some EVs cheaper to lease than their petrol equivalents. At the same time, the rapid expansion of the public charging network — now exceeding 70,000 charge points — has reduced one of the key barriers to adoption for buyers without home charging.

Looking ahead, the trajectory is clear. The ZEV mandate targets rise to 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2035, which means petrol and diesel will continue to shrink as a proportion of new sales. The SMMT forecasts that total registrations will stabilise around 1.9–2.0 million per year through the mid-2020s, with growth in BEVs offsetting declines in internal combustion engines. For consumers, this means an ever-widening choice of electric models across all segments — from superminis to large SUVs — and continuing downward pressure on EV prices as battery costs fall and competition intensifies.

The data on this page is sourced from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which publishes monthly and annual registration figures based on DVLA records. Fuel type breakdowns are available from 2015 onward, when the SMMT began separately reporting BEV, PHEV and hybrid categories.