The trade body said the increase reflects a rebound from an unusually weak April last year, when buyers brought purchases forward to March to avoid incoming vehicle tax increases, including the application of VED and the Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) on battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Growth was recorded in all sectors, led by fleets, up 26.8 per cent to 90,462 registrations. Private retail deliveries grew 20.2 per cent to reach 56,116, while registrations by the smaller business sector rose 15 per cent to 2,669.
Demand for petrol cars rose 8.2 per cent, while diesel registrations fell one per cent. Electrified cars accounted for 53.2 per cent of the market for the second month in 2026. Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations rose 46.4 per cent to take a 13.8 per cent market share, while hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) increased 18.8 per cent, securing 13.2 per cent of new registrations.
April also saw the two millionth battery electric car registered (2,012,758), following growth of 59.1 per cent compared with last year. Consequently, BEV uptake reached 26.2 per cent share of registrations in the month. Year-to-date, BEVs comprise 23.1 per cent of the overall new car market, which is short of the 33 per cent required by the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate.
Published today, May 5, 2026, the latest industry outlook shows improving confidence in overall market volumes but also reflects weaker expectations for EV demand. Total new car registrations in 2026 are now expected to rise 3.6 per cent to 2.093 million, up from January’s 2.048 million outlook, but BEV share has been downgraded to 26.8 per cent, from 28.5 per cent, following an underperforming first quarter.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “April’s rebound is welcome, but underlines just how significantly fiscal changes can influence the market. Two million electric car registrations is a considerable milestone to celebrate, although natural demand is still well below the level demanded by the mandate.
“The mounting cost of compliance threatens to limit consumer choice, overall decarbonisation and the sector’s competitiveness so the need for a rapid review of the transition to align policy with market realities is unchanged, else Britain’s attractiveness as a vehicle market and manufacturing hub will be put at risk.”
Commenting, Matt Adams, head of electrical transport systems at BEAMA said: “The 59.1 per cent year-on-year growth in battery electric vehicles marks strong progress. Yet the government risks undermining this progress with the introduction of Electric Vehicle Excise Duty [eVED].
“Introducing eVED in 2028 is simply too soon. It comes before the 2030 deadline on the sale of new petrol-only and diesel-only cars. To keep up momentum around EV demand, we need to delay eVED until 2030. This will give manufactures the confidence they need to keep building the charging infrastructure to keep cars moving.”
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