The United Kingdom recorded 99,199 battery-electric cars in September 2026, the highest monthly figure ever, up 36.3% compared with the same month of the previous year. Electric cars accounted for 28.3% of all newly registered cars, according to preliminary data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
September was strong overall, as new-car registrations rose to 350,518 vehicles, an increase of 12.1%, benefiting from being one of Britain’s two main car-plate change months. However, most of the growth came from plug-in cars; registrations of plug-in hybrid cars rose 55.7% to 59,563 vehicles, with a 17% share. Combining the two categories, plug-in cars reached 158,762 vehicles, or 45.3% of the market, while the share of petrol cars declined to 37.6%.
Tesla Leads as Competition Broadens
The Tesla Model 3 led electric-car sales in September after 9,929 registrations, also placing second among all cars regardless of powertrain type. The Tesla Model Y ranked fifth overall with 5,946 vehicles. The two models combined for 15,875 vehicles, or around 16% of all electric cars registered during the month.
Other brands stood out among the best-selling electric models; the BYD Sealion 7 and BYD Seal took the next two places among electric cars, with 3,191 and 3,184 vehicles respectively, followed by the Kia EV3 with 3,026 vehicles. The Leapmotor B10 also entered the top ten after recording 1,883 vehicles.
What Is Changing in Practice?
During the first nine months of 2026, Britain recorded 454,945 electric cars, an increase of 30.2%, representing 26.2% of the total 1,739,253 new cars. The Zero Emission Vehicle mandate (ZEV mandate) sets a primary target of 33% for 2026, compared with 28% in the previous year.
The SMMT says reaching the annual target requires 265,000 electric cars to be registered in the final quarter, based on its forecast of 2.183 million vehicle registrations during the year. According to the article’s calculations, this means electric cars would need to hold a share of nearly 60% of the market in each month from October to December, an unlikely scenario.
However, reaching 33% does not depend solely on electric-car sales. The rules allow carmakers to earn credits by reducing emissions from their non-electric cars, borrowing credits from future years, or purchasing credits from other companies. Taking this flexibility into account, New AutoMotive estimated the effective target for 2026 at 24.6%, meaning that the market share recorded through September exceeds this level.
Record Set Amid a Policy Dispute
Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the SMMT, welcomed the variety of models and higher fuel prices as two factors behind the growth, but at the same time called for a review of the mandate, saying that Britain has “the toughest targets in the world and the highest energy costs.” The association wants the rules to be closer to what it considers the actual level of demand.
Editorial reading: The figures show that regulatory policy has expanded supply and pushed companies to offer 178 electric models in the market, according to the SMMT, more than double the number in 2023, with a clear response from buyers. Therefore, the record month alone does not prove that achieving the annual 33% target is easy, but it weakens the argument that demand for electric cars is completely absent.
The open question is the role of plug-in hybrid cars; they grew faster than fully electric cars in September, while the Jaecoo 7, available with a petrol engine and as a plug-in hybrid, led total sales for the month. Any amendment that gives this category greater weight in a review of the mandate could change the market mix, even if electric cars continue to achieve record figures.