SMMT shows battery electric vehicle registrations up in July: comment

“This is yet another month of strong EV sales growth in the UK, as an ever-increasing number of British drivers respond to volatile petrol prices by looking for cheaper and cleaner electric driving. Families are being helped to make this switch by the Government’s ZEV mandate which, by incentivising competition between manufacturers as they strive to hit their EV sales targets, has driven down prices with new EVs now roughly the same cost as a new petrol car, but much cheaper to charge.

“With prices down, sales up, and the car industry on track to exceed its real EV sales targets for 2026 - just as it did in 2024 and 2025 - the arguments being put forward to weaken these targets appear increasingly outdated. With VW and Kia amongst the companies leading EV sales in the UK, and EVs now accounting for over half of the cars sold by Renault, it is clear that legacy car manufacturers are more than capable of rising to the challenge of electrification. Given most of the cars made in the UK are exported and Europe, our biggest export market, is seeing a similar surge in EV sales, laggard companies need to focus on catching-up. Any weakening of the mandate could encourage companies to slow their transition to EVs, risking a repeat of the mistakes of the 70s and 80s when a failure to modernise in the face of competition from abroad decimated the UK car industry, and leave regular families stuck paying much higher petrol driving bills.”