UK car sales rise in January but EV share falls – Jaecoo 7 makes top three models sold

Britain’s new car market has started 2026 on a high, recording its strongest January since before the Covid pandemic. But beneath this growth, cracks are beginning to show in the electric vehicle transition.

New car registrations rose by 3.4% last month year-on-year to 144,127 vehicles, marking the best start of the year since 2020, according to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Private registrations climbed by 4.5%, while fleet demand increased by 1.6% and accounted for six in 10 new cars sold (61.2% of the market). Although smaller in volume, business registrations surged by 46.5%.

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EV sales rise, but lose ground

Electric vehicles edged up to just 0.1% year-on-year to 29,654 units. However, their market share slipped to 20.6%, the lowest level since April 2025.

The slowdown follows an unusually strong January last year, when buyers rushed to register EVs ahead of the new tax rules introduced in April 2025. A late-2025 push by manufacturers to meet regulatory targets also helped pull demand forward, leaving a quieter start to this year.

Melanie Lane, CEO of EV charging provider Pod, said: “A slower uptake on BEV registrations in January shows how quickly momentum can stall when confidence is knocked by mixed messages on policy and costs, despite growing interest and strong underlying demand.

“The DfT’s recent Get That Electric Feeling campaign shows drivers can save up to £1,400 a year on fuel and running costs – but government must back these savings with stable, joined-up policy and action to lower energy costs to get back on a strong trajectory and convert interest into uptake at scale.”

While electric cars lost share, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) did well. Registrations jumped by 47.3% year-on-year, giving them 12.9% of the market. Conventional hybrids also continued their steady rise, up 4.8% to account for 13.4% of sales.

The Jaecoo 7 makes the top three models sold in January

Although the brand Jaecoo has only been in the UK for a year or so, its Jaecoo 7 model has toppled the likes of the Ford Puma to snag second place in the top 10 models sold in January, with 4,059 cars now in the hands of drivers. This is a good step for the relatively new Chinese brand considering that the Ford Puma was the best-selling model in 2025.

Here are the top 10 models sold in January 2026:

Although the EV market share slipped in January, the SMMT figures show that the Renault 5 was the best selling electric car for private buyers. Overall, Renault’s EV registrations saw sales rise by 71% year-on-year and the French carmaker was second overall for brand EV sales in retail (private buyers) in January.

What this means for you

January is typically a low-volume month, and the SMMT experts caution against reading too much into one set of figures. Even so, the latest outlook is looking more optimistic than previously expected.

The SMMT now forecasts new car registrations will grow by 1.4% over the course of 2026, reaching around 2.05 million vehicles. Electric cars are expected to rebound later in the year, helped by a wider choice of models, better driving range, and return of government support via the Electric Car Grant.

Electric vehicles are now forecast to take a 28.5% share of the market this year, according to SMMT. That’s up on 2025, but still short of the 33% mandated target for the year.

EV targets are under pressure

The gap is worrying for manufacturers, who have invested billions in electrification, price incentives and new technology. And despite improvements in the UK’s charging network, demand has not grown as quickly as policymakers anticipated.

Industry leaders argue that changing economic conditions, political uncertainty and the planned introduction of electric vehicle excise duty (eVED) from 2028 risk further dampening demand.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “Despite a January dip in the EV market share, the signs point to growth by the end of the year. The pace of the transition, however, may be slowing and is certainly behind mandated targets.

“With sales of new pure petrol and diesel cars planned to end in less than four years, there needs to be a comprehensive review of the transition now, to ensure ambition can match reality.”

These latest figures show that choice is expanding and incentives are returning, but an all-electric future looks set to be more uneven than first planned.

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