Electric vehicles sales in August have helped push new car registrations into growth with a 35.4% climb to take a 14.5% share of the market. 

August is the first month of growth after five months of declining figures – although electric cars have been running ahead of the market throughout this time.In what is traditionally a quiet month for new car sales as buyers hold off for the new registration plate in September, total sales for all fuel types was up 1.2%. However, the year-to-date total for 2022 is still down 10.7% on the same period in 2021. 

While the popularity of electric cars is now firmly embedded in the UK’s car buying habits (it’s the second most popular ‘fuel’ type), plug-in hybrid electric car sales continue to decline. In fact, for the first eight months of the year, only electric car registrations are up. 

Official figures show a rise of nearly 50% for electric cars.The slight increase in new car registrations for August bodes well for September, the all-important first month of the 72-plate. 

Several car dealers contacted by Electrifying.com report that orders have “never been better” and the final figure would come down to how much supply is available.This information tallies with the new car data which shows those brands with good supply – particularly of electric cars – have performed the best. 

The top three brands year-to-date, judged by increase in total sales, are MG (+12,054), Hyundai (+11,264) and Kia (+10,704). All three of these makes have strong electric vehicle offerings

MG, Hyundai and Kia all had a strong month