Last month saw EVs make up 26.2% of the new-car market – a significant rise on April 2025 – but the industry has revised down its EV expectations for 2026 as a whole, warning that manufacturers will fall significantly short of government targets.
Some 39,084 of the 149,247 cars registered in the UK last month were pure electric, with the 26.2% market share a significant improvement on April 2025’s 20.4% figure, but still some way under the annual target.
The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which compiled the data, notes April’s EV figures were “robust”. But with electric cars only holding 23.1% of the year-to-date market, and the first quarter being marked by “underperforming” demand, the organisation has revised its EV expectations for the year down, and now expects only 26.8% of 2026’s sales to go to battery-powered cars (equivalent to 560,924 vehicles), down from the 28.5% expectation set at the start of the year.
With the UK government mandating that 33% of all the cars manufacturers sell this year run on battery power alone, car makers are set for a series of heavy fines for failing to do as required.
Mike Hawes, the SMMT’s chief executive, says “natural demand” for electric cars is “still well below the level demanded”, and reiterated his call for “a rapid review” of the UK’s EV policy.
