Source: Gasgoo
According to data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), new car registrations in the UK rose 10.4% to 317,786 units in March this year, not only achieving the 20th consecutive month of growth, but also the best March performance since March 2019. However, new car registrations in the UK remained below pre-coronavirus levels in March.
Fleets continued to be the main growth driver for the UK new car market last month, with registrations up 29.6% to 181,399. However, registrations in the private market fell 7.7% due to challenging economic factors such as weak consumer confidence and high interest rates. In addition, new car registrations from small businesses fell 8%.
Image source: SMMT
In terms of power-trains, petrol cars still occupy the largest part of the UK car market. In March, UK petrol car registrations rose 9.2% to 177,019, giving a market share of 55.7%. Diesel car registrations fell 2.7% to 23,312 units, accounting for a 7.3% share of market. Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) registrations reached a record level, up 19.6% to 44,550 units, with a 14% market share; Plug-in hybrids saw the largest increase at 36.7% to 24,517 units, giving them a 7.7% market share. Although registrations of pure electric vehicles reached their highest level ever (up 3.8% to 48,388), the market share fell by one percentage point compared with the same period last year to 15.2%.
In a market that continues to grow, the declining market share of pure electric vehicles highlights the need for the government to support consumers in purchasing electric vehicles. Thanks to strong tax incentives, large fleets will continue to drive the uptake of pure electric vehicles in the UK. However, in a tough economic context, it will be more difficult for consumers to pay for these new technologies.
While car manufacturers are also offering generous incentives to help more consumers switch to zero-emission vehicles to meet the standard of carbon emissions, this cannot continue indefinitely. A full transformation requires incentives not only for fleet and enterprise customers, but also for retail consumers.
In the first quarter of this year, 545,548 new cars were registered in the UK. Among them, pure electric vehicles increased by 10.6%, with a total of 84,314 registrations; Plug-in hybrid vehicles rose 34 percent to 42,559 units.
