New car sales make strong start to 2026 – SMMT
New car sales in the UK grew by 3.4% in January to 144,127 units, according to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
This makes it the best January performance since before the pandemic.
However, uptake of battery electric vehicles rose just 0.1% to 29,654 units, which accounts for a 20.6% market share, the lowest since April 2025.
Plug-in hybrids achieved the most notable growth, up 47.3% to make up 12.9% of registrations, while hybrid sales were up 4.8% to account for 13.4% of the market.
Based on these figures, the SMMT is now predicting new car registrations to grow 1.4% over 2026 to reach 2.048 million units.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “Britain’s new car market is building back momentum after a challenging start to the decade. It is also decarbonising more rapidly than ever and, despite a January dip in EV market share, the signs point to growth by the end of the year.
“The pace of the transition, however, may be slowing and is certainly behind mandated targets. With sales of new pure petrol and diesel cars planned to end in less than four years, there needs to be a comprehensive review of the transition now, to ensure ambition can match reality.”
