November marked the electric car market's slowest growth period in almost two years, new data reveals. A total of 39,965 new pure battery electric vehicles were registered last month, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
This represented a 3.6% increase compared with November 2024, marking the smallest year-on-year rise since December 2023, when registrations dropped by 34.2%. That steep decline was blamed on supply chain disruptions and an unusually strong December 2022.
The broader new car market contracted by 1.6% last month, with 151,154 new vehicles registered. The SMMT attributed this sixth monthly decline in registrations this year to a 5.5% fall in demand from private buyers.
Fleet purchases by businesses or other organisations rose marginally by 0.2%.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "Even in a fragile market, zero emission vehicle uptake continues to rise, which is exactly what we need. But the weakest growth for almost two years – ahead of Government announcing a new tax on EVs (electric vehicles) – should be seen as a wake-up call that sustained increase in demand for EVs cannot be taken for granted.
"We should be taking every opportunity to encourage drivers to make the switch, not punishing them for doing so, else the ambitions of Government and industry will be thwarted."
In the recent Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves declared that from April 2028, drivers of battery electric vehicles will be levied a charge of 3p per mile for electric Vehicle Excise Duty. The move came as a response to a significant decrease in fuel duty revenue as more motorists transition from petrol or diesel cars to EVs.
Battery electric vehicles took a market share of 22.7% during the first 11 months of the year. Under the Government’s zero-emission vehicle mandate, at least 28.0% of new cars sold by each manufacturer in the UK in 2025 are required to be zero emission, which generally means pure electric. But green consultancy New Automotive said its analysis shows this year’s EV sales target is 21.7% once flexibilities are taken into account.
Melanie Lane, chief executive at EV charging provider Pod, said: “A growth slowdown in November proves that now is the wrong time to introduce taxes on EV drivers and that further cost pressures for manufacturers and fleet managers will keep the sector from achieving a 28% market share target set by ZEV mandate.
"The total cost of owning an EV is lower than ICE and the intention from drivers is there – but the Government needs to give consumers and the market more confidence in order to sustain demand, yield returns on its own Electric Car Grant investment and generate growth for the UK over the long term.”
