UK’s new car registration saw a 39.2pc rise in H1 2021 to 909,973 units registered compared to 653,502 units in the same period of 2020, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Diesel vehicle bookings fell by 21.7pc to 93,087 units and registration of petrol vehicles rose by 12.7pc to 442,583 in H1 2021 compared to the same period last year. Battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) saw a rise by 138.7pc, 196.9pc and 84.9pc to 73,893 units, 58,207 units and 72,547 units respectively in the first half of the year annually.
Car registrations in June increased by 28pc to 186,128 units from 145,377 in the same month last year.
Diesel vehicles fell by 34.7pc to 15,027 units and registration of petrol vehicles dropped by 1.7pc to 86,411 vehicles in June this year on an annual basis. BEV, PHEV and HEV saw a rise by 122.9pc, 145.7pc and 57.9pc to 19,842 units, 12,139 units and 16,150 units respectively in June compared to June 2020.
SMMT concluded that consumers need more certainty on the country’s improving economy for vehicle registration to reach pre-pandemic levels of 2.3 million per annum.