EVs accounted for one in three new car sales, according to the latest new car registrations from car industry body the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders).
Electric vehicles rose by a third compared with last year’s October figures to take a third of the market, with nearly 50,000 EVs finding a new home in the month.
The overall market was up by 5% thanks to electric and plug-in hybrid sales – petrol, diesel and hybrid cars were all down on the previous year and cars with plugs accounted for almost half of sales.
Year to date sales in 2026 are up nearly 10% – again thanks to robust electric vehicle sales – with EVs accounting for over 26% of registrations so far across the year.
Tesla must have been between boat deliveries in October, because the Skoda Enyaq was the top EV in the month with over 1,500 sales. The Mini Countryman was in second place with the Jaecoo E5 not far behind.
SMMT boss Mike Hawes welcomed the strong EV sales but said that manufacturers were having to put too much effort into incentivising electric sales for it to be sustainable.
“Higher targets may force supply, but they do not create demand,” he said. “The ZEV mandate review must deliver substantive reform effective immediately to ensure we have a healthy market and an attractive pitch to investors.”
According to figures from independent research body New Automotive, the real overall EV sales target once the various flexibilities have been taken into account is 24.6%, which the UK market has already surpassed.
That said, the credits from surpluses are heavily weighted towards the likes of BYD and Tesla, while the likes of the Volkswagen Group, Jaguar Land Rover, Stellantis (which owns Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall) and Japanese brands like Nissan, Toyota and Mazda are all suffering from a lack of electric sales.
Those carmakers will either have to sell more EVs and restrict combustion sales towards the end of the year or buy credits from companies like BYD and Tesla in order to avoid fines.
