Data room · United Kingdom
Car market — May 2026
In brief
In May 2026, 160,662 new passenger cars were registered in United Kingdom (+7.1 % year on year), according to SMMT. Battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars account for 41.1 % of registrations. Volkswagen is the leading brand (8.8 % of the market), ahead of Audi and Kia.
Registrations of the month · May 2026
Passenger cars
160,662
+7.1 % year on year · 150,070
Electric + plug-in hybrid (month)
41.1 %
share of new passenger cars
Passenger cars · May 2026
Total market : 160,662 · market share and year-on-year change
- 1Volkswagen14,1108.8 %+4.0 %
- 2Audi9,0985.7 %+12.4 %
- 3Kia8,9555.6 %+4.4 %
- 4BMW8,5035.3 %-8.8 %
- 5Vauxhall7,6754.8 %+9.4 %
- 6MG7,4634.6 %+12.6 %
- 7Ford6,9114.3 %-18.6 %
- 8Skoda6,6214.1 %-10.9 %
- 9Mercedes-Benz6,5524.1 %
- 10Toyota6,1873.9 %-4.5 %
- 11Hyundai6,0773.8 %-16.3 %
- 12Renault5,6463.5 %+8.2 %
- 13Jaecoo5,2073.2 %+210.1 %
- 14BYD5,1573.2 %+70.5 %
- 15Mini5,1513.2 %+78.7 %
Source : SMMT
Power sources · May 2026
| Power source | Units | Share | Year on year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 66,223 | 41.2 % | -7.1 % |
| Diesel | 7,622 | 4.7 % | -2.2 % |
| Hybrid (non plug-in) | 20,719 | 12.9 % | +1.8 % |
| Plug-in hybrid | 22,167 | 13.8 % | +23.9 % |
| Battery electric | 43,931 | 27.3 % | +34.2 % |
Total : 160,662
Source : SMMT
Sources and original documents
Figures copied from the official publications or computed from them (shares, changes, sums), never estimated or written by AI. A table that fails the consistency checks is dropped.