In October, new passenger car registrations in the United Kingdom increased by 14 percent year-over-year to 153,529, which marks the 15th month of consecutive growth. After ten months of 2023, the total number of new registrations amounted to 1,605,437 (up almost 20 percent year-over-year).
The plug-in electric car expansion is even faster, which means that plug-ins were able to slightly increase market share.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reports that 38,228 new plug-in cars were registered last month (33 percent more than a year ago), which is 24.9 percent of the total market (compared to 21.5 percent a year ago).
In October, all-electric car uptake recorded its 42nd consecutive month of growth, reaching 23,943 units (up 20 percent year-over-year). Interestingly, plug-in hybrids surged by almost 61 percent year-over-year to 14,285.
The SMMT noted also that the last quarter was a record high in terms of new AC charging point deployment in the country (4,753 units).
Plug-in car registrations in the UK last month (YOY change):
- BEVs: 23,943 (up 20%) and 15.6% share
- PHEVs: 14,285 (up 61%) and 9.3% share
- Total: 38,228 (up 33%) and 24.9% share
Plug-in electric car registrations in the UK – October 2023
So far this year, more than 375,000 new passenger plug-in electric cars have been registered in the UK, which is 35 percent more than a year ago and more than one-fifth of the market.
Plug-in car registrations in the UK year-to-date (YOY change):
- BEVs: 262,484 (up 34%) and 16.3% share
- PHEVs: 113,278 (up 37%) and 7.1% share
- Total: 375,762 (up 35%) and 23.4% share
For reference, in the 12 months of 2022, more than 368,000 new passenger plug-in cars were registered in the UK, reaching an average market share of 22.8%.
More details, also including other powertrain types:
Top models
In October, just like in September, none of the stand-alone all-electric models appeared in the top 10 for the month.
However, the Tesla Model Y remains listed in the top 10 year-to-date with 30,087 units, falling one position to fifth. It means that less than 2,000 units were registered last month, but we know that Tesla vehicle shipments are often irregular on a monthly basis.
LCVs
In the case of light commercial vehicles (LCV), some 26,342 units were registered last month (up 18 percent year-over-year). Out of that, 1,362 were all-electric (down 20 percent year-over-year), which translated to a market share of 5.2%.
The all-electric van segment clearly remains far behind the all-electric passenger car segment, but that's also something that we see in other markets.
