UK new car registrations fell by 6% year-on-year in October, including only the second fall of 2024 in fleet registrations.
The drop in the fleet market has come amid warnings from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), publisher of the data, that announcements in last week’s Autumn Budget may discourage fleet renewal.
Although fleet registrations were down year-on-year by 1.7%., they were still well ahead of an 11.8% decline in retail registrations, and a 12.8% decline in business registrations, classed as those to organisations with fewer than 25 vehicles.
In terms of fuel mix, pure EVs were the only type to see an increase in October, with registrations up by 24.5% year-on-year, representing the strongest EV performance seen so far in 2024. EVs took 20.4% of the overall market.
Plug-in hybrids and hybrids were down by 3.2% and 1.6% respectively, for market shares of 9.6% and 13.2%.
Petrol car registrations were down by 14.2%, for a 50.4% market share, and diesels were down by 20.5%, taking 6.2% of the overall market.
The SMMT said that, while the Budget extended existing business and fleet incentives for pure EVs, the Vehicle Excise Duty and Company Car Tax changes announced disincentivised low carbon vehicle purchases and fleet renewal generally, risking a delay to the overall reduction in road transport emissions.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “Massive manufacturer investment in model choice and market support is helping make the UK the second largest EV market in Europe. That transition, however, must not perversely slow down the reduction of carbon emissions from road transport.
“Fleet renewal across the market remains the quickest way to decarbonise, so diminishing overall uptake is not good news for the economy, for investment or for the environment. EVs already work for many people and businesses, but to shift the entire market at the pace demanded requires significant intervention on incentives, infrastructure and regulation.”
