According to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers, the UK new car market declined by -2.9% in February to 79,594, as demand from private buyers fell again.
However, it was a good month for battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars, with 4,566 joining UK roads but, at just 5.8%, market share remains low.
February is traditionally one of the year’s quietest month ahead of the March number plate change. Registrations by private buyers were responsible for the bulk of the overall loss, down -7.4% as 2,741 fewer people took delivery of new cars. Fleet demand, however, remained stable, up by 31 registrations.
Demand for both diesel and petrol cars fell in the month, with registrations down -27.1% and -7.3% respectively, and diesel now accounting for just over a fifth of sales (21.9%).
Hybrids (HEVs) recorded an uplift of 71.9% to 4,154 units, while registrations of zero emission capable cars also continued to enjoy growth, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) rising more than three-fold to 2,508 units and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) up 49.9% to 2,058.
The UK new light commercial vehicle (LCV) market fell -2.0% in February, after two successive months of growth with 14,103 new units registered.
Pickups and small vans weighing less than 2.0 tonnes experienced declines, with registrations down -10.1% and -11.1% respectively. Mid-size vans weighing 2.0-2.5 tonnes, however, bucked the trend, with demand growing 9.3%.
Larger vans weighing more than 2.5-3.5 tonnes made up the bulk of registrations, but were down
-2.8%, with 9,082 units registered. Year-to-date, however, the overall market remains ahead by 2.8% on the same period in 2019, bolstered by a strong January when almost 24,000 new models hit UK roads.
