New car registrations in the United Kingdom were up 28% year-on-year to 186,128 units in June of 2021, artificially lifted through comparison with June 2020, when the UK began to emerge from the first pandemic lockdown and showrooms in England opened up at the beginning of the month. All vehicle sizes saw growth in June, with the strongest seen in the mini segment, which had been relatively weak for several months. Superminis were the most popular car class, accounting for 34.1% of registrations, followed by lower medium (26.8%) and dual purpose (24.5%). Compared with the previous decade average, however, monthly registrations were down 16.4%, while total registrations for Q2 2021 fell short of industry expectations by around 9,000 units partly as the ongoing global semiconductor shortage acted as a limiting factor on supply. As a result, overall registrations for the first half of the year are down 26.8%. source: The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited (SMMT)

Car Registrations in the United Kingdom averaged 154000.69 from 1962 until 2021, reaching an all time high of 562337 in March of 2017 and a record low of 4321 in April of 2020. This page provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Car Registrations - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. United Kingdom Car Registrations - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on July of 2021.

Car Registrations in the United Kingdom is expected to be 289000.00 by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Car Registrations in the United Kingdom to stand at 196000.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the United Kingdom Car Registrations is projected to trend around 169000.00 in 2022 and 185000.00 in 2023, according to our econometric models.

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United Kingdom Car Registrations

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
186128.00 156737.00 562337.00 4321.00 1962 - 2021 Monthly
Volume, NSA


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2021-04-06 08:00 AM Mar 11.5% -35.5% 75%
2021-05-05 08:00 AM Apr 3176.6% 11.5% 100%
2021-06-04 08:00 AM May 674.1% 3176.6% 690%
2021-07-05 08:00 AM Jun 28% 674.1%
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
UK New Car Sales Continue to Rise
New car registrations in the United Kingdom were up 28% year-on-year to 186,128 units in June of 2021, artificially lifted through comparison with June 2020, when the UK began to emerge from the first pandemic lockdown and showrooms in England opened up at the beginning of the month. All vehicle sizes saw growth in June, with the strongest seen in the mini segment, which had been relatively weak for several months. Superminis were the most popular car class, accounting for 34.1% of registrations, followed by lower medium (26.8%) and dual purpose (24.5%). Compared with the previous decade average, however, monthly registrations were down 16.4%, while total registrations for Q2 2021 fell short of industry expectations by around 9,000 units partly as the ongoing global semiconductor shortage acted as a limiting factor on supply. As a result, overall registrations for the first half of the year are down 26.8%.
2021-07-05
UK Car Sales Jump Driven by Fleet Registrations
New car registrations in the United Kingdom reached 156,737 units in May 2021, an almost eightfold increase on the same month last year, but still down 14.7 percent on pre-pandemic May 2019, and 13.2 percent on the 10-year May average. Against a more positive economic backdrop fleet registrations grew more than twice as fast as private purchases in May. Large fleets accounted for 50.7 percent of all new vehicles hitting the road, demonstrating improving business confidence compared to the same month last year. Total registrations for 2021 sit at 296,448 fewer units, or 29.1 percent less, than the average recorded across January to May during the last decade, evidence of the scale of the recovery still needed given the impact of Covid on the market. The automotive sector anticipates around 1.86 million registrations by the end of the year, with 723,845 achieved so far.
2021-06-04
UK New Car Sales Surge as Showrooms Reopen
New car registrations in the UK April recorded an artificial 30-fold increase compared to the same month last year to 141,583 units, when the first national lockdown effectively shut the country, and just 4,321 cars were registered amid closed showrooms and a prohibition on test drives. Importantly, the shift to new technologies continued as total plug-in vehicle market share in now of 13.2 percent, with plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) accounting for 6.8 percent, unusually higher than the share for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) of 6.5 percent. Estimates point for another record year for electric vehicles, which are expected to overcome a 14% market share. Overall, April’s volumes still remained 12.9 percent lower than the 10-year average, but the successful vaccine rollout, which is spreading optimism across businesses and consumers, made the SMMT to upwardly revise its end of the year forecasts to 1.86 million.
2021-05-05
UK New Car Sales Rise for 1st Time Since August
New car registrations in the UK rose 11.5 percent from a year earlier to 283,964 units in March 2021, the first month of sales growth since August 2020, supported by a 28.7 percent increase in sales of fleets. Retail consumer demand remained depressed, falling by 4.1 percent as showrooms remained closed for the duration of the month. Meanwhile, the shift to new technologies continued, with plug-in vehicle demand reaching its highest ever volume. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) took a combined market share of 13.9 percent, up from 7.3 percent last year. Registrations of BEVs increased by 88.2 percent to 22,003 units, while PHEVs rose by 152.2 percent to 17,330. Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) also rose 42.0 percent to reach 21,599 registrations. So far, 2021 has seen 58,032 fewer cars registered compared to January to March last year, equivalent to a loss of £1.8 billion in turnover during the first quarter.
2021-04-06

United Kingdom Car Registrations
In the United Kingdom, Car Registrations refers to total registration of new passenger cars.