UK electric car sales up by a third in first half of 2025, preliminary data suggests

British car factories have had to contend with a slowdown in response to extra US tariffs of 25%, but a lower rate of 10% kicked in from Monday. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

British electric car sales rose by a third in the first half of 2025 after the strongest June for overall car sales since before the Covid pandemic.

The number of battery electric car sales rose 34.6% to 224,838 units in the first six months of the year, according to preliminary data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group.