New EV Car Registrations Soar in August
The headline here is that EV registrations are just under 30% market share, with petrol registrations sinking under 40% market share for the first time.
August is traditionally a weak month for sales or registrations, perhaps because of summer holidays, and also because its one month before the new number plate is out. However, August 2026 new car registrations has officially recovered to pre-pandemic levels indicating a strong, buoyant market invariably helped by discounting across all fuel types.
Market Share in Order
1. Petrol Registrations
Whilst petrol registrations still lead (and that includes mild hybrids), that lead is shrinking each month, and for the first time they sit below 40% market share, declining year-on-year by 3.5% to 38.3% market share. Year-to-date shows a similar decline with petrol claiming 42.5% market share, down from 48.1% cumulative for the same time last year.
2. EV Registrations
Year-on-Year EV registrations have grown 27.7% with year-to-date registrations taking over a quarter of the market at 25.% market share, and this number has been climbing month-on-month. To put things into perspective, there’s just 8.5% between petrol and EV registrations.
3. Plug-in Hybrids
Jostling between 3rd and 4th place with Hybrids, PHEVs have seen a surge in demand throughout 2026, recording a huge 39.8% increase over August 2025 claiming 14.5% market share, up from 11.8% since last year.
Year-to-date is slightly different with PHEVs sitting just below hybrids, but equally the plug-in versions claim a 37.9% growth compared to the same point in 2025, with a cumulative market share of 13.3%.
4. Hybrids
Hybrid cars DO NOT include mild hybrids, however, despite this they have show a very healthy 26.3% growth vs August 2026, taking 12.7% market share compared to 11.4% for the previous year. However, year-to-date puts their market share ahead of PHEVs at 14% vs 13.8% a year ago.
5. Diesel Registrations
Diesel cars, which include mild hybrids, account for 4.8% market share vs 5.2% a year ago, and 4.6% year to date, decline 10.5% in a year, down from 5.6% in 2025. With both Year-on-Year and Year-to-Date showing market share of less than 5%, diesel cars should now be considered a niche choice.
What’s evident is the volume of plug-in hybrids and hybrids, plus some electric cars entering the market for the first time from China with compelling products, low prices, and long warranties just at the point that the market was looking for cars with significantly lower running costs. With Diesel prices hitting £1.80 - £1.90 per litre, it’s now wonder that Derv powered cars are a mere niche product now, even though some manufacturers have launched new cars as diesel only this year (cough cough Audi Q9).
SMMT August 2026 New Vehicle Registration Data
EV Best Sellers for August
Unsurprisingly, Tesla - who only make EVs - take number 1 and 2 spot for best selling electric cars for August 2026, but a surprising 3rd place goes to the Vauxhall Frontera which seems to be gaining traction as a popular choice, especially as the lease deals have been very tempting on these models.
The Jaecoo E5 comes in 4th place, which is remarkable for a brand that only entered the market just 2 years ago as a complete unknown from China. It’s not a particularly rangey car, but its fit, finish, price, long warranty and desirable Evoque-ish looks help it to stand out.
The excellent, if not chintzy, Mercedes CLA takes 5th spot, which is a remarkable position given its premium appeal and price tag (nothing wrong with chintzy if that’s what appeals BTW), but it’s a good indication of ‘build a great EV and customers will come’. And no, it’s no Tesla killer, it’s an ICE car killer with exceptionally great range, superfast charging speeds and a similar price point, a perfect blend that people look out for when making their first EV purchase.
Skoda took 6th and 7th place with their excellent Enyaq and Elroq - two solid, dependable EVs that have a growing appeal, despite the Enyaq getting on a bit, but evidently helped by a major refresh last year.
Coming up the rear in the Top 10 is the superb Renault 5 taking 8th spot with the KIA EV3 and Audi Q6 e-tron coming in 9th and 10th respectively.
These are all superb cars in the top 10, which is indicative of what works well for customers, and which have the greater appeal, whether its price, looks, desirability or capability, or a combination of some or all of those.
SMMT August 2026 Best Selling Electric Cars by Brand and Model
Thoughts
Whilst this looks like a strong month for EV registrations, there’s still a way to go to reach the ZEV Mandate of 33% for the year. It’s conceivable to think that 33% maybe achievable in the remaining months of 2026, but the projections look like a combined market share for 2026 may reach 27.5% which is shy of the ZEV mandate.
However, without the transparency to see how manufacturers meet their targets, they will have been leaning heavily on the ZEV mandates flexibilities. These flexibilities allow hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales to contribute to that overall number, as well as buying credits from manufacturers who have spare quota’s to sell.
The litmus test will be the new registration plate from 01 September, as customers will have held back purchases to get the latest registration, plus summer holidays would have impacted interest in the car market, despite this being the strongest August for new car registrations since 2019. The latter part of the year will be extremely interesting to observe, especially if the war between Iran and the U.S. continues and keeps petrol and diesel prices elevated at the pumps.
We’re also awaiting the conclusion of the periodic ZEV mandate review, that I wrote in a previous article, which should conclude next month. And we also anticipate the first budget for the new PM’s government. In that past, the government both encouraged EV uptake with cash incentives, whilst also placing tax barriers in the way, which really impacted EV sales in the first two months of 2026, knocking consumer confidence hard. Only the war and a spike in fuel prices saw customers look to secure cars that were less expensive to run, which is why we see hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs all doing well.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “August was a bright spot for the new car market and another strong month for electric car uptake, showing that motorists are responding to the huge choice and compelling offers available. But August is a low-volume month, so September will be the acid test. The industry is doing everything it can to help drivers switch, but mandate targets must be grounded in the reality of demand. Government’s review is the right move so we can ensure the transition is kept on track, consumer choice protected and the jobs and investment necessary to deliver net zero and economic growth are safeguarded.”
