New car market reaches half year ‘million motors’ milestone

News

The UK new car market has hit the half year million motors milestone for the first time in five years, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revealed.

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New car registrations rose in June by a modest 1.1 per cent to reach 179,263 units, the SMMT reported. As a result, so far in 2024, 1,006,763 new cars have been registered, up six per cent on the previous year but still down -20.7 per cent on 2019.

The SMMT found that June’s market growth was driven primarily by the fleet sector, where uptake rose by 14.2 per cent, while private retail demand fell for the ninth consecutive month, down -15.3 per cent. Retail buyers accounted for fewer than four in 10 new cars registered (37.7 per cent).

Electrified vehicles (EV) continued to grow in June, with plug-in hybrid (PHEV) volumes up 30 per cent to reach a 9.3 per cent market share, while hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) rose 27.2 per cent to achieve 14.9 per cent of the market.

Both powertrains also outpaced battery electric vehicle growth (BEV), which rose 7.4 per cent but took its highest monthly share this year, accounting for 19 per cent of all new vehicle registrations.

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New car market