LONDON (dpa-AFX) - UK car sales grew for the eleventh successive month in October, data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders, or SMMT, showed Thursday.
Car registrations grew by 5.4 percent to 152,730 units in October, up from 144,945 units in the corresponding month last year.
During October, growth was recorded across all sales types, with fleet registrations growing 5.4 percent to 89,985 units. Private demand was 4.1 percent higher, totaling 58,229 units. Data also showed that business registrations advanced 24.5 percent.
Plug-in-hybrid and battery electric cars accounted for all the growth, rising 30.1 percent and 32.7 percent, respectively, with the latter registering their highest share this year as manufacturers intensified efforts to bring registrations closer to the annual mandated target.
'Almost one in three new cars registered in October was electric-great progress in the transition, but one that comes at enormous cost,' Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said.
'The industry and government are spending billions to help drivers switch, but that support cannot be sustained indefinitely with the gap to mandated targets set to more than double by 2028, just as a new EV-only tax is introduced.'
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
