LONDON – The UK electric car market has hit a clear slowdown, with the weakest year-on-year growth since December 2023, according to fresh data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are still rising in volume, but the sharp drop in growth rate has rattled the automotive sector and led to new calls for stronger government backing to hit Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate goals.
SMMT figures show that in November 2025, new pure battery electric car registrations increased by only 3.6% compared with November 2024. This is the smallest annual rise since the heavy 34.2% fall recorded in December 2023.
That earlier drop was linked to supply chain issues and unusually strong registrations in December 2022. The latest electric vehicle sales numbers paint a picture of a fragile market, especially with new tax rules for EVs on the horizon.
Weakest Growth Since December 2023
In November 2025, drivers registered 39,965 new BEVs in the UK. This helped push the year-to-date BEV share of the new car market to 22.7%, but the monthly growth trend is clearly losing momentum. A 3.6% uplift looks very modest compared with the double-digit and at times triple-digit percentage growth that marked the early stages of the UK electric vehicle transition.
At the same time, the overall new car market shrank. Total registrations in November 2025 dropped by 1.6%, down to 151,154 vehicles. The fall was driven mainly by a 5.5% decline in private car registrations. In contrast, fleet and business registrations, which are often shaped by company climate targets and attractive tax rules, inched up by 0.2%.
This split in the market shows a clear pattern. The private EV buyer is still far less keen than corporate and fleet customers, a gap the SMMT has highlighted many times.
SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes called the slowdown a “wake-up call” for both ministers and the motor trade. He noted that zero-emission vehicle uptake is still heading in the right direction overall, but warned that steady growth is not guaranteed. Analysts point to a key problem, a lack of strong electric car incentives for everyday drivers, combined with policy changes that have created fresh doubts.
Price remains a major sticking point. Many BEVs still cost more than similar petrol or diesel cars, and the end of earlier grants has widened that gap. On top of that, public charging infrastructure is still patchy in many parts of the country. People who do not have off-street parking often struggle to charge at home, which adds to range anxiety and worries about day-to-day usability.
“But the weakest growth for almost two years, ahead of Government announcing a new tax on EVs, should be seen as a wake-up call that sustained increase in demand for EVs cannot be taken for granted,” said SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes. “We should be taking every opportunity to encourage drivers to make the switch, not punishing them for doing so, else the ambitions of Government and industry will be thwarted.”
The New Electric Car Tax And The Budget Shock
A big source of concern for buyers is the government’s recent Budget plan to introduce Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for electric cars. From April 2028, drivers of BEVs are expected to face a 3p per mile tax. The policy is meant to help replace lost fuel duty as petrol and diesel sales fall. While that may address long-term public finances, the announcement has had an instant effect on how some buyers feel about switching to electric.
The same Budget did extend the Electric Car Grant and set aside £1.3 billion for the fund. Even so, the arrival of a new tax system has left many drivers confused. Industry voices say interest has dipped, and some dealers report that customers have cancelled EV orders after reassessing the numbers.
This cooling of demand is a direct risk to the UK’s climate targets and the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate. The rules require car makers to sell a minimum share of zero-emission models each year. For 2025, the headline target is 28.0% of new car sales.
Despite the recent stumble, the year-to-date BEV market share of 22.7% is not far behind what many believe manufacturers need, especially once regulatory flexibilities are taken into account. Some analysts say the effective target is closer to 21.7%. To stay on course, manufacturers are already offering record discounts and incentives on BEVs to boost registrations and meet the mandate.
UK Zero-Emission Models
The SMMT has warned that this heavy discounting cannot continue for long without stronger help from the government to grow private demand. If interest from private buyers weakens further, car makers will have to lean even more on fleet and corporate sales, which are expensive to support, or risk significant penalties for missing ZEV targets linked to the UK government’s 2035 petrol and diesel ban timetable.
The UK electric car market is at an important turning point. While EV sales in global and European markets are still rising, the latest UK data suggests the country needs to rethink how it supports drivers at home.
On one side, manufacturers have put in huge investments, leading to more than 130 zero-emission models on sale to British drivers, which shows a strong commitment from the industry. On the other side, buyers need a clear and stable long-term policy framework so they can feel confident that switching to electric makes sense both financially and practically.
The Department for Transport points to £7.5 billion in funding for the transition, including money for new public chargepoints. Yet the SMMT’s message is straightforward. Without strong, consistent, and near-term support aimed at private motorists, the pace of UK EV adoption will keep slowing. That would put the country’s net-zero goals at risk and weaken its standing as a leading EV market in Europe.
The next few months of UK car sales data will show whether this slowdown is a short-term pause or a sign of a deeper, structural problem for the future of mobility in the UK.
