Electric car sales rose by nearly a quarter to a record 473,000, or 23.4% of the overall market, says SMMT
A rise in the popularity of Chinese brands pushed total car sales in the UK above the 2m mark last year for the first time since 2019, figures reveal.
Chinese companies accounted for 9.7% of the 2m new car registrations in the UK in 2025, or 196,000 vehicles, according to preliminary figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. That was nearly double the 4.9% market share achieved by the country’s carmakers in 2024.
Electric car sales rose by nearly a quarter year on year to a record of 473,000, making up 23.4% of the overall market, four percentage points higher than last year. That helped the average emissions of new cars sold in the UK to fall by 10% compared with the year before.
Mike Hawes, the SMMT chief executive, said 2025 sales represented a “reasonably solid result amid tough economic and geopolitical headwinds”.
