Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) took a 30% share of the new car market in August, according to the latest figures from New Automotive.
Registrations rose by 30% compared with August 2025, making electric cars the largest single fuel type in the market for the month.
A total of 27,876 new BEVs were registered in August with BEVs outselling all other fuel types and helping to spur on growth in the overall market, despite petrol decline. So far this year, more than 366,000 EVs have joined UK roads, with BEVs accounting for a quarter of all new car registrations.
This latest set of statistics has led industry experts to call for market certainty after another consultation on the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate and the 2030 ban on sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles was launched by the UK Government.
For the third consecutive month, BEV sales have outpaced the ZEV mandate trajectory, increasing the surplus of credits available in the system and helping to reduce compliance costs for manufacturers still behind their targets. New AutoMotive estimates the effective 2026 market-wide target, after accounting for scheme flexibilities, at 24.6%, compared with a year-to-date BEV share of 25.5%. The market is demonstrating it can deliver just as the government consults on changes that could weaken the mandate.
Electric vans also set a new record, with 2,378 registered in August, representing a 17% market share and growth of 22% compared with August 2025. It was the second consecutive month of record BEV share in the van market, and came in a month that usually slumps ahead of the September plate change.
Ben Nelmes, CEO at New AutoMotive, said:
“As policymakers and lobbyists wrangle over the fine print of the ZEV mandate, the automotive industry is busy delivering electric cars and vans to consumers who increasingly want to buy them. While August is a relatively modest month for car and van registrations, it fits with an emerging theme of accelerating growth in electric car and van uptake in the UK. This is a sign that the UK government’s approach is working.
“After a summer of record-breaking heat, it would be profoundly mistaken for government to mess with a story of economic and environmental success.”
James Court, Public Policy Director at Octopus Electric Vehicles, comments:
“Today’s figures are clear: the ZEV mandate is working – and the market is actually ahead of schedule. The industry is comfortably beating its real-world target, so there’s no excuse for weakening the rules now. The worst thing we could do now is slam the brakes on a success story that is gathering pace. What drivers, manufacturers and investors need is certainty to keep the UK firmly in the EV fast lane.”
Simon Smith, CEO, Voltempo, said:
“The strong growth in electric vans is hugely encouraging because it helps solve the chicken-and-egg problem around charging infrastructure. Vans can provide the demand today that makes commercial charging infrastructure viable, while the same sites can be built to support the rapid growth of electric HGVs that will follow.
“Results like these give companies such as Voltempo the confidence to invest ahead of demand. The commercial case for electrification is getting stronger, the infrastructure can be ready, and the direction of travel is clear: the future of road transport is electric.”
Ginny Buckley, the chief executive of Electrifying.com, the electric car buying and advice site said:
“For me, these figures reinforce why we need to stop constantly moving the goalposts. The EV market is heading in the right direction and manufacturers are building up a significant surplus of credits.
“Of course not all car makers are equal when it comes to EVs – some have embraced the transition far more successfully than others – but we can’t let those lagging behind hold the whole market back. Whatever Government decides on the mandate, it needs to give the industry and drivers certainty – and then stick to it.”
Renault’s new car and van registrations grew by 19% year-on-year in August. Commenting on the success, UK Managing Director Adam Wood said:
“Renault is committed to giving its car and van customers a choice of electrified powertrains to suit their needs. Growing our registrations by 19% year-on-year in August clearly underlines that this strategy is working, with our growth principally coming from increased EV and hybrid sales.
“Notably, our fastest growth continues to be in EV registrations, with around 50% of our current order bank for cars for fully electric vehicles, and Renault 4 and Renault 5 being the most significant contributors to our success last month.
“With fuel prices still high, the benefits of switching to an EV have never been clearer. Renault was a pioneer in electric vehicles more than a decade ago, and it is applying that know-how successfully with market-leading vehicles that are as desirable and fun-to-own as they are practical and affordable.”
Calum James, General Manager for Farizon Auto UK at Jameel Motors, said:
“It’s encouraging to see record numbers of van drivers switching to electric. At Farizon we’re 100% electric, and we’ve seen great levels of interest not just from fleets, but tradespeople too.
“While 17% is a way off the mandated target of 24%, electric vans like the Farizon SV and V7E are showing operators that eLCVs can do the job instead of a diesel, often at a more compelling total cost of ownership.”
Tanya Sinclair, CEO, Electric Vehicles UK:
“While politicians argue about whether Britain is ready for electric cars, drivers are just getting on with buying them. EVs were the biggest single fuel type in August, and the market is already ahead of the ZEV Mandate’s target. So why mess around with it?
“What is particularly striking is the difference between manufacturers. Kia’s EV registrations more than doubled year on year, Renault was up 76% and MG 113%, while others went backwards. That tells us demand isn’t some fixed quantity. Desirable electric cars, priced and marketed well, will sell. Government should be
giving consumers and industry confidence in that transition, not reopening the argument every few months.”
Dr Simon Cran-McGreehin, Head of Analysis at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said:
“With EV sales already strong and rising further as drivers try to protect themselves from the Iran war oil price shocks, the car industry is comfortably on track to meet Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate targets for the third year in a row, using the flexibilities that the industry itself requested.
“Sales of EVs in France are now ahead of the UK, while Europe generally has seen a similar surge which places ever greater urgency on UK factories to electrify, given that most cars made in the UK are exported and Europe is our biggest market. The risk is a repeat of the 1970s when UK car makers stuck with out-dated technology and failed to keep up with global trends, losing thousands of jobs in the process. And if UK manufacturers are falling behind, the question is what can the Government do about it?
“With an ongoing cost-of-living crisis and second-hand EVs offering savings of hundreds of pounds off driving bills, choking off the supply of potentially millions of electric cars by watering down the ZEV mandate will only make it tougher for regular families. Does the Government want to do that?”
Vicky Edmonds, Chief Executive Officer of EVA England, says:
“Drivers are embracing electric cars faster and faster, showing that clear targets and deadlines are working and that the transition is already ahead of schedule.
“Almost one in three new cars sold in August was fully electric, with registrations up 30% on last year. Drivers are doing their part in the move to electric. That should give Government the confidence to stay the course. Their focus now should be on making it easier and more affordable for more and more people to make the switch, rather than changing direction or adding new costs that could slow that progress.”
Read James Evison’s news analysis piece that looks at the journey to the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, and the current state of play for the changeable policy – https://transportandenergy.com/2026/08/17/news-analysis-the-zev-mandate-debate/
Image courtesy of Green Car Guide.
