The new car market grew 28.3% in July with 143,921 new vehicles registered. It marks a sustained rise in vehicle sales following the problems faced during and immediately after the pandemic.

Results show the market has enjoyed non-stop growth for a full year despite challenging economic conditions. Supply chain challenges have eased, production increased and deliveries are now being fulfilled.

Business buoyant

This was the best July performance since 2020. However, despite this continuous growth, the overall market year to date still remains behind pre-pandemic levels.

Company registrations are driving the growth. Uptake by large fleets increased 61.9% to 80,961 units and business registrations rose 28.7% to 2,915 new vehicles. Private demand remained stable at 60,045 units (up 0.3%).

Current trends

Electrified vehicles (EVs) account for more than a third (35.4% of the market). Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were by far the biggest motivators, despite hybrids increasing their share too. EVs recorded an 87.9% increase to account for 16.0% of all new registrations for the month. This very much in line with their recent statistical performances.

The demand for battery electric cars was such that a new one was registered every 60 seconds in the month. Furthermore, forecasters believe this will accelerate to one every 50 seconds by the end of the year, and up to one every 40 seconds by the end of 2024.

However, this must move even faster if it is to outpace and significantly replace the rest of the market and enable the UK to meet environmental targets. Sponsored scrapage schemes, subsidies and a much better charging infrastructure are seen as key by industry insiders.

Last quarter, 3,056 new standard public chargers were installed. This was equal to one new charger for every 35 new plug-in vehicles registered. It’s a significant improvement on the same quarter last year, when the ratio was one for every 58 cars.

To reach the government’s minimum target of 300,000 chargepoints by 2030, the installation rate must treble to almost 10,000 chargers per quarter, every quarter.

More help needed

“Choice and innovation in the market are growing,” says Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive. “It’s encouraging to see more people switching on to the benefits of driving electric. With inflation, rising costs of living and a zero emission vehicle mandate that will dictate the market coming next year, however, consumers must be given every possible incentive to buy. Government must pull every lever, therefore, to make buying, running and, especially, charging an EV affordable and practical for every driver in every part of the country.”