More than a quarter of car sales in August were electric, according to new data from SMMT: comment

“There will always be volatility between months, but with more than a quarter of car sales in August being electric, the industry is on track to hit its UK EV sales targets this year given the flexibilities that are built into the policy, just as it did last year.

"The question now is: with the industry having successfully lobbied for another raft of flexibilities as part of the targets from 2026, will all UK drivers that could switch to cheaper electric driving get the opportunity? It could mean more plug-in hybrid cars - which consume 350% more fuel than their manufacturers claim - on the roads.

"This matters for regular families as the pipeline of second hand EVs is dependent on new car sales, which hit the used market after around three to four years. Demand for used EVs is already surging because they can offer £1600 a year in savings [2] in owning and running costs."