By Dominic Chopping

The U.K. new-car market rose in March, buoyed by the best ever month for new electric-vehicle registrations, an industry body said.

A total of 357,103 cars were registered in March compared with 317,786 in the same month last year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said Friday.

Private registrations rose 14.5% on year, while fleet registrations rose by 11.5% and the much smaller business sector fell 0.3%.

Battery electric vehicle registrations rose 43.2% as manufacturers incentivized uptake with significant discounting. Plug-in hybrid registrations rose 37.9%, while hybrid electric vehicle registrations 27.7%, the SMMT said.

Registrations of petrol vehicles slipped 0.4% to 176,847 units, while diesel registrations fell 10.1%.

The industry body said that while EV's market share improved significantly on year to 19.4%, it remains below the U.K. government's requirement of 28% for this year.

In addition, the March EV performance was probably boosted by buyers seeking to get ahead of U.K. taxation increases. The U.K.'s additional tax that's applied to cars with a list price of over 40,000 pounds ($52,400)--known as the Expensive Car Supplement--now applies to new EVs from April 1. It potentially raises ownership costs for most EV drivers by more than 2,000 pounds over the next six years, the SMMT added.

March is also the first month of the year that new license plate registrations become available, and it usually accounts for around 16% of annual registrations.

SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said March marked a welcome return to growth, and while there is reason for optimism, the government needs to do more to incentivize consumers to buy EVs.

"We need sustained growth, not a short-term bubble driven by unsustainable manufacturer discounting and drivers rushing to beat a tax hike," he said. "Without substantive government support for consumers, the current regulatory regime is undeliverable."

The U.K.'s top two best-selling cars in March were the Ford Puma and Kia Sportage, according to the SMMT.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 04, 2025 08:29 ET (12:29 GMT)

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