On September 26, according to statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), UK car sales fell slightly by 1.3% year-on-year to 84,575 units in August this year, a decrease of 1,082 units from the same period last year.
In terms of production, British car production fell for the sixth consecutive month in August. SMMT said that a total of 41,271 new cars rolled off the assembly line in August, down 8.4% year-on-year.
IT Home noted that the production of new energy vehicles, including pure electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid models, also decreased in August, and its share of total production fell from 37.5% in July to 29.6%.
The report said that as automakers offered big discounts in the summer and launched a series of new models, the registration of pure electric vehicles in the UK in August increased by 10.8% year-on-year, and the market share reached 22.6%, the highest monthly level since December 2022, when pure electric vehicle sales accounted for 32.9% of all new cars.
So far, the market share of pure electric vehicles in the UK has risen slightly to 17.2%. Due to the increase in electric model options, its market share is expected to rise further by the end of the year.
According to SMMT’s forecast, new car sales in the UK will reach 2 million this year, of which about 364,000 are pure electric vehicles, accounting for 18% of the UK’s auto market share.
At the same time, SMMT called for urgent measures to boost the UK electric vehicle market. For example, increase the number of public charging stations; re-introduce incentives for individual buyers; cancel unfavorable policies such as vehicle consumption tax and expensive car additional service fees planned to be implemented in 2025.