► How UK new car market fared last year
► Preliminary full-year figures for 2024 revealed
► EV sales rise but below mandated levels
New car registrations increased by 2.6 per cent in 2024, according to preliminary data revealed today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Sales increased to 1.953 million units, with electric car sales growing by 21.4 per cent to 382,000 registrations. EVs accounted for 19.6 per cent of the overall market in 2024, but failed to meet the 22 per cent set out by the government in its ZEV mandate.
Many car makers are known to have heavily discounted and incentivised their EVs at unsustainable levels in a desperate push to shift as many electric models as possible to meet ZEV targets, while others have limited their supply of non-electric models to balance their share. MG’s commercial director Guy Pigounakis told CAR in November that the mandate had ‘fundamentally changed’ the car industry.
The SMMT said that ‘it’s clear demand has not matched the assumptions behind the mandate when it was conceived’, with the natural level of demand thought to be only 11 or 12 per cent.
Car manufacturers who did not hit the required 22 per cent share could now face fines unless they can borrow, trade or pool zero carbon emissions credits from other manufacturers that have exceeded the targets. It puts companies that currently sell few or no EVs (such as Land Rover and Suzuki) in a precarious position.
The SMMT is calling on the government to take action to help boost EV sales, which face another setback later this year when they will no longer be exempt from car tax (VED).
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT said: “We need rapid results from the regulatory review and urgent substantive support for consumers – else automotive investments will be at risk and the jobs, economic growth and net zero ambitions we all share in jeopardy.”
The overall increase in the new car market was driven purely by the fleet sector, which includes to leasing companies, rental firms and manufacturers’ own fleets. Fewer new cars were bought by private buyers last year than in a Covid-hit 2020, when showrooms were closed for several months due to lockdowns.
More worryingly, just one in 10 electric cars were sold to private customers, rather than fleets – something the SMMT says must change if the industry is to hit the required 25 per cent EV share laid out by the ZEV mandate in 2025.
The SMMT’s preliminary data (which is generally very accurate), also set out the 10 most popular cars, with the Ford Puma narrowly retaining the top spot as the UK’s most popular new car in 2024, with 48,340 registrations, followed by the Kia Sportage (47,163) and Nissan Qashqai (42,418). All five of the most popular cars were either SUVs or crossovers for the first time, too.
The full list of 2024’s most popular cars are as follows:
- Ford Puma – 48,340 registrations
- Kia Sportage – 47,163
- Nissan Qashqai – 42.418
- Nissan Juke – 34,454
- Tesla Model Y – 32,862
- Volkswagen Golf – 32,370
- Hyundai Tucson – 32,174
- MG HS – 30,207
- Volvo XC40 – 30,202
- Volkswagen Polo – 28,891
The SMMT’s full new car data from 2024 will be published on January 6.