By Dominic Chopping


U.K. new-car sales rose 7.2% in February, boosted by a recovering private retail market, industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said.

A total of 90,100 cars were registered in February, compared with 84,054 in the same month last year, the SMMT said Thursday.

The increase was largely driven by a 17.6% rise in demand from private buyers to 35,227 vehicles, while the fleet market registered a 1.8% increase and the much smaller business sector saw a 12.7% decline in volumes.

Battery electric vehicle registrations rose 2.8% on year to 21,840 vehicles. However, the market share of battery electric vehicles slipped to 24.2% from 25.3% in February last year, marking the second consecutive month of year-on-year market share declines.

The drop in market share partially reflects a strong start to last year, when new buyers entered the market to avoid April's new tax rates, and comes after manufacturers pushed sales at the end of last year to comply with U.K. emission rules.

Hybrid electric-vehicle uptake rose by 3.3% and plug-in hybrid demand rose 43.5%.

Year-to-date battery electric vehicle market share stands at 22.0%, versus the 33% U.K. government-mandated target for the year, and SMMT said an urgent government review on the transition is needed, as buyer confidence could weaken further amid plans to introduce a pay per mile tax for EVs from 2028.

All eyes are now on March figures, which typically set the tone for the year, SMMT said. The new 2026 license plate registration became available from March 1.

"Given sales of new pure petrol and diesel cars are currently required to end in less than four years, EV uptake must accelerate rapidly," said SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes.

"Manufacturers have committed monumental investment to drive demand but such costs cannot be sustained indefinitely, making a review of the transition an urgent priority to ensure ambition matches natural demand."

Registrations of gasoline vehicles rose 5.2% in February to 41,935 units, while diesel registrations fell 3.8% to 4,080 units.

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


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-05-26 0800ET