New car market rises see highest February registrations since 2004

New car registrations rose by 7.2 per cent in February, the highest volume for the month in 22 years.

That’s according to new data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which shows that 90,100 cars were registered in the month. February is traditionally a quiet month for the trade as buyers wait for the arrival of a new number plate in March.

However, demand increased with the SMMT putting this growth down to the ‘recovering private retail registrations’ which soared by 17.6 per cent to 35,227 units during the month. Fleet sales increased by 1.8 per cent, in contrast.

Registrations of electric vehicles grew by 2.8 per cent to 21,840 units, too, taking a 24.2 per cent share of the market. However, this did represent the second consecutive month of decline in electric vehicle market share compared with the same period last year.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “The UK’s new car market is continuing to recover and EV volumes are growing too, even if market share remains disappointing. All eyes are now on ‘new plate’ March, which typically sets the tone for the year – and given sales of new pure petrol and diesel cars are currently required to end in less than four years, EV uptake must accelerate rapidly.

“Manufacturers have committed monumental investment to drive demand but such costs cannot be sustained indefinitely, making a review of the transition an urgent priority to ensure ambition matches natural demand.”

The most popular powertrain continued to be petrol – which saw a 5.2 per cent increase – while demand for diesel continued to fall, with 4,080 registrations representing a 3.8 per cent drop compared to last year.

The most growth was seen in the plug-in hybrid market, as with 10,438 registrations, demand for this powertrain grew by 43.5 per cent compared to 2025’s figures.