Key points
- Battery electric share of new UK car sales rose from 1.6% in 2019 to 23.4% in 2025.
- January to September 2026: 454,947 new battery electric cars, a 26.2% share. September hit a record 28.3%.
- There were 2,017,000 licensed zero-emission cars on UK roads at the end of June 2026, up 34% in a year.
- The North East has 150.2 public chargers per 100,000 people, below the UK average of 174.9.
The headline numbers
Battery electric cars (BEVs) took 26.2% of the UK new car market from January to September 2026. That is 454,947 cars (SMMT).
September 2026 set a record. BEV registrations reached 99,201, up 36.3% on the year before, for a 28.3% share. Plug-in hybrids took another 17.0%.
For a site owner, the point is simple. More of the cars arriving in your car park each year need to plug in. If you want to see what that could mean for your site, try our revenue estimator.
Battery electric share of new car sales, 2019 to 2026
The table shows SMMT's full-year figures for battery electric cars. The 2026 row covers January to September only.
| Year | BEV share of new cars | BEV registrations | ZEV mandate target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1.6% | 37,850 | None |
| 2020 | 6.6% | 108,205 | None |
| 2021 | 11.6% | 190,727 | None |
| 2022 | 16.6% | 267,203 | None |
| 2023 | 16.5% | 314,687 | None |
| 2024 | 19.6% | 381,970 | 22% |
| 2025 | 23.4% | 473,348 | 28% |
| 2026 (Jan–Sep) | 26.2% | 454,947 | 33% |
Sources: SMMT annual releases for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. The 2022 figure is SMMT data as reported by Eurometal. The 2020 share is calculated from SMMT's unit figures.
What the table shows
Growth has been steady, with one pause. Share stalled in 2023 as the overall market recovered, then climbed again once the ZEV mandate took effect in 2024.
In volume terms, the UK bought over twelve times as many new BEVs in 2025 as in 2019.
The industry is still behind the targets. SMMT says about 265,000 more BEVs would be needed in the last quarter of 2026 to reach the 33% target. December 2025, at 32.2%, was the only month of 2025 above that year's 28% target.
Good to know: The ZEV mandate sets yearly targets for manufacturers, rising to 80% of new cars in 2030. A government review is consulting on changes until 23 October 2026, including an option to cut the 2030 figure to 70%. Our ZEV mandate guide covers what it means for businesses.
How many electric cars are on the road
New sales only tell part of the story. What matters for a hotel or venue is how many EVs are already driving around.
Two official counts give slightly different answers, because they measure different things:
- DfT, end of June 2026: 2,017,000 licensed zero-emission cars, up 34.0% in a year. That is 5.8% of the 34.9 million licensed cars on the road (DfT). Across all vehicle types there are 2,313,000 zero-emission vehicles.
- SMMT, end of 2025: 1,797,809 battery electric cars in use, which SMMT describes as "almost 5%" of all cars (SMMT).
Neither figure includes plug-in hybrids, which can also use a Type 2 charger. The number of cars that could plug into your charger is therefore higher than either count.
Five or six cars in every hundred may sound small. But the count rose by a third in a single year, and every one of those drivers needs somewhere to charge away from home.
The North East charger gap
Public charging in the North East lags behind the UK average.
| Area | Public chargers per 100,000 people |
|---|---|
| London (highest) | 345.1 |
| UK average | 174.9 |
| North East | 150.2 |
| Northern Ireland (lowest) | 60.0 |
Source: DfT public charging statistics, 1 July 2026. The North East sits joint seventh of 12 regions.
Rapid charging is thin too. Zapmap counts 1,011 rapid and ultra-rapid chargers in the North East, the second lowest of the regions it lists (Zapmap).
Where the growth is going
Across the UK, Zapmap counted 124,738 public chargers at the end of September 2026, up 7.4% in a year. The fastest growth is in ultra-rapid units.
Destination charging is growing more slowly. Zapmap's mid-year figures show ultra-rapid chargers up 37% in a year, while destination chargers rose 5.7% to 62,609 (Zapmap H1 2026).
That gap is the opportunity. Drivers can top up quickly on the A1, but they still need somewhere to charge where they stay, eat and celebrate. Hotels, venues, holiday parks and pubs are those places.
Plug-in hybrids are growing too
Battery electric cars aren't the only ones with a plug. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) took 11.1% of new car sales in 2025 (SMMT), and a record 17.0% in September 2026.
PHEVs usually have smaller batteries, so they take less energy per session. But their drivers still look for somewhere to plug in, and they count towards the demand at a destination charger. Hybrids can be sold new until 2035 (gov.uk).
What to watch next
A few dates and decisions will shape the next couple of years:
- October 2026: the consultation on the ZEV mandate review closes on 23 October. The government says any changes "will not change the destination".
- Year-end 2026: whether a strong December gets the market close to the 33% target.
- April 2028: a planned pay-per-mile charge of 3p a mile for battery electric cars and 1.5p for plug-in hybrids. Draft legislation was published in July 2026, but it is not yet law (House of Commons Library).
- 2030: the end of new pure petrol and diesel car sales.
EVs have also paid vehicle excise duty since April 2025. Even so, the battery electric share rose from 19.6% in 2024 to 23.4% in 2025.
What the numbers mean for a North East business
Three things follow from the data.
- Demand is already here. Over two million zero-emission cars are on UK roads, and the number grew by a third in a year.
- It will keep rising. Each year's new cars become next year's used cars, so the share on the road will keep climbing even if new sales stall.
- Local supply is short. With fewer chargers per head than the UK average, a North East site that adds charging stands out more than one in London would.
Our guide on why hotels need EV charging looks at how this shows up in bookings. Our area pages cover local charging by town and county.
See what it could mean for your site
The revenue estimator turns these trends into a rough figure for your car park. When you want firm numbers, book a free site survey and we'll work it through with you.