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. source: The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited (SMMT)

Car Registrations in the United Kingdom averaged 153951.72 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 May of 2021.

Car Registrations in the United Kingdom is expected to be 185000.00 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 256200.00 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
141583.00 283964.00 562337.00 4321.00 1962 - 2021 Monthly
Volume, NSA


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2021-02-04 09:00 AM Jan -39.5% -10.9% -34%
2021-03-04 09:00 AM Feb -35.5% -39.5% -32%
2021-04-06 08:00 AM Mar 11.5% -35.5% 75%
2021-05-05 08:00 AM Apr 3176.6% 11.5% 100%
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
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
UK New Car Sales Post Weakest February Since 1959
New car registrations in the UK slumped 35.5 percent from a year earlier to 51,312 units in February 2021, the lowest February uptake since 1959, as showrooms across the country remained closed due to the COVID crisis. Demand remained depressed for both private buyers (-37.3 percent) and large fleets (-33.5 percent). Declines were also recorded in both petrol and diesel cars registrations, which fell by 44.5 percent and 61.0 percent respectively. On a positive, however, plug-in vehicles continued to enjoy growth, with BEVs and PHEVs taking a combined 13.0 percent market share for the month, up from just 5.7 percent in February 2020. The SMMT has downgraded its forecast for 2021 again, saying it expects 1.83 million cars to be registered this year, compared with around 1.9 million previously estimated. The automotive industry also said it expects a challenging March due to ongoing restrictions, which is traditionally the sector’s most important month.
2021-03-04
UK Car Sales Suffer Worst Start to a Year Since 1970
New car registrations in the UK slumped 39.5 percent from a year earlier to 90,249 units in January 2021, as showrooms across the country remained shut, leading to the worst start to the year since 1970. Demand remained depressed for both private buyers (-38.5 percent) and large fleets (-39.7 percent). Declines were also recorded in both petrol and diesel cars registrations, which fell by 62.1 percent and 50.6 percent respectively. On a positive, however, battery electric vehicle (BEV) uptake grew by 54.4 percent to take 6.9 percent of the market. The SMMT has downgraded its forecast for 2021, saying it expects less than 1.9 million cars to be registered this year, compared with more than 2 million previously estimated, given the more severe negative impact on first quarter performance and March in particular.
2021-02-04

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