EVs lead new car sales growth in July
New car registrations had another strong month in July, with numbers up by 12% compared with the same month last year.
According to data published this week by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), both private customers and fleet registrations showed healthy growth – although private sales grew slightly faster. But, as has been the case for most of this year, that growth only came from certain specific areas. EVs and plug-in hybrids accounted for more than all of the market’s growth, while Chinese brands continued to put pressure on many established European and Japanese manufacturers.
Cars with plugs keep growing
Although the overall new car market was up by 12% – about 16,000 cars – in July, the combined growth in EVs and plug-in hybrids was about 19,000 cars.
EV registrations were up by 45% compared with last July, reaching more than 43,000 cars and taking 28% of the market. Plug-in hybrids were up by 34%, taking almost 15% of the market. Petrol registrations fell by 5%, while diesel was down as usual, this time by 18%. Regular hybrids were up by 12%, broadly in line with the overall market.
Year to date, EVs now make up just over 25% of new car registrations, while plug-in hybrids add another 13%. That means cars with plugs now account for almost four in ten new cars sold so far this year, while petrol’s share has fallen from 48% last year to 43%.
The SMMT continues to frame EV demand around the headline 33% ZEV mandate target, but that’s misleading. Once the various allowances and flexibilities in the legislation are taken into account, the real-world target is expected to be somewhere around 25%, although it will vary by brand. On that basis, the industry collectively appears to be broadly on track for 2026.
Good month, bad month
Although the overall new car market was up by 12%, the results were very mixed when looking across individual manufacturers. Once again, much of the market’s growth is coming from Chinese brands, while plenty of familiar names are either treading water or going backwards.
It was a good month for Abarth, Alpine, BYD, Citroën, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jaecoo, Leapmotor, Lotus, Maserati, MG, Omoda, Renault, Smart and XPeng. All of these brands outperformed the market by at least ten percentage points, meaning they grew their registration numbers by at least 22% compared with last July.
Meanwhile, things weren’t so good for Audi, Chevrolet, Cupra, Dacia, Ford, Genesis, GWM, Hyundai, Ineos, Jeep, KGM, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Peugeot, Polestar, SEAT, Subaru and Tesla. All of these brands underperformed against the overall market by at least ten percentage points, meaning they either grew registrations by less than 2% or lost numbers compared with last July.
That leaves Alfa Romeo, BMW, Honda, Mini, Porsche, Skoda, Suzuki, Toyota, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Volvo broadly where we’d expect them to be. All were within +/-10% of the overall market.
Volkswagen continued its run as the UK’s biggest new car brand, comfortably ahead of Kia, Audi, BMW and Ford. MG was just behind Ford in sixth, with BYD now up to ninth for the month.
Chery Group is now a serious force in its own right. Add together Chery, Jaecoo and Omoda, and the group registered more than 12,000 cars in July, which would place it second behind Volkswagen and ahead of every other individual brand. Add BYD as well, and those four Chinese brands registered almost 19,000 cars between them in July.
The biggest growth in absolute terms came from Jaecoo, which was up by about 3,600 cars compared with last July. BYD was up by about 3,400 cars, while Chery added more than 3,200 cars from a standing start. Going the other way, Hyundai, Ford and Peugeot all fell by well over 1,000 cars in a market that was up by 12%.
It’s also worth noting that not every Chinese or Chinese-owned brand is flying. Polestar was down by 31% compared with last July, while GWM registered only seven cars for the month. Skywell registered no cars at all, after the previous importer cleared its remaining stock and closed the brand’s doors in June.
Puma back on top in July
The Ford Puma returned to the top of the best-seller charts in July, ahead of the Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage. That result also helps the Puma extend its lead in the 2026 new car sales race, where it has been the car to beat for most of the year.
Chinese brands had three cars in the top ten, with the Jaecoo 7 in fourth place, the MG HS in fifth and the Jaecoo 5 making its top-ten debut in seventh. That’s another strong showing for Jaecoo, now having two cars in the top ten for the first time and presumably worrying several rival brands.
The Ford Kuga placed sixth, ahead of the Volkswagen Golf, Mini Cooper and Vauxhall Corsa. Despite Volkswagen remaining the UK’s biggest new car brand, the Golf was its only model in the July top ten.
The UK’s best-selling electric car in July was the Renault 5, ahead of the Kia EV3 and Jaecoo E5.
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