One in three new cars sold in Britain in October was electric — the highest monthly share of the year — and a Chinese SUV topped the sales chart for the second month running. UK new car registrations were 152,730 in October, up 5.4% year on year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders — the 11th consecutive monthly rise. Battery-electric cars were 48,858, up 32.7%, and 32.0% of the market — the highest monthly electric share of 2026. Plug-in hybrids were 22,898, up 30.1%, and 15.0% of the market, so plug-ins together were 47% of all new cars. Petrol cars were 56,876, down 11.6%, and 37.2% of the market, against 44.4% a year ago. Diesel cars were 5,811, down 15.9%, and 3.8%. Year to date, UK registrations are 1,892,000, up 9.8%, with battery-electrics at 503,805, up 30.4%, and 26.6% of the market.
A Chinese SUV tops the chart again
The best-selling model in October was the Jaecoo 7, with 3,412 sold — top for the second straight month, ahead of the Ford Puma, which is still the best seller year to date. The best-selling electric car was the Skoda Enyaq, followed by the Mini Countryman. Chinese brands took more than 21% of the market in October: MG sold 7,837 cars, BYD sold 6,065, and the Chery Group — which owns Jaecoo — sold about 13,000 combined. Tesla, by contrast, sold just 282 cars in the UK in October, down 45% year on year from 511, according to ChargeNews, citing SMMT data — a figure also reported by Electrek and Teslant. The contrast with Tesla’s surge elsewhere in Europe is striking: Tesla registrations jumped in Spain, up 271%, Sweden, up 248%, Portugal, up 186%, and Norway, up 131%, in October, according to Reuters — but BYD still leads Tesla year to date in Europe, with 283,997 sold against 260,575.
The mandate gap
The SMMT warns that the gap between electric demand and the government’s zero-emission vehicle mandate is set to widen, and the industry is urging the government to revise its targets down. The 2026 mandate is 33% battery-electric, rising to 80% by 2030 — and October’s 32.0% is the closest the market has come to the 2026 target, but only just, and only in one month. One figure should not be used: the independent researcher New Automotive reported UK October registrations up 26.9%, against the SMMT’s 5.4%. Reuters notes the two use different data sources and methods, and this post uses the SMMT’s official figure only. For buyers, the message is that electric cars are now a third of the British market — and the best-selling car in the country is a Chinese SUV most buyers had never heard of two years ago.
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