It was a much better month for new car sales in March, with both private and fleet registrations up significantly and EV registrations hitting another new record.
New car registrations were the best March result since before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to data published this morning by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). That’s certainly good news for the industry, although it’s still more than 20% down on pre-pandemic sales levels, which shows how dramatically the new car market has changed in the last five years.
Just over 357,000 new cars were registered in March, an increase of 12% on the same month last year. Private sales grew by 15%, while fleet registrations grew by 12%. That means that after the first quarter of the year, private registrations are up 10% for the year.
Whether this year’s growth can be sustained is almost completely unknown, however, with the current level of global chaos brought on by America’s current trade war against the rest of the world. It’s too soon to know how it will all play out, with car makers around the world urgently reviewing their plans as a result of increasing tariffs and counter-tariffs. We could see some car prices increase while others decrease, depending on supply costs and global market forces. It’s going to be a roller-coaster ride, so stay tuned…
Electric car registrations continue to surge
It was another record month for electric car registrations, up 43% on the same month last year. Although the SMMT release doesn’t mention it, market intelligence provided to The Car Expert by a major car manufacturer indicates that private EV sales are up by about 60% this year.
Market share of EVs in March was 19%, which was down slightly compared to January and February, so after three months of 2025, the overall market share is about 21%. That’s down on the gross target of 28% that the government has mandated for the year, but only about 2-3% off the net target that car manufacturers will actually have to hit once all of the concessions and loopholes are taken into account. With more new low-cost EVs set to hit the market in coming months, including the electric version of the Ford Puma, the industry remains on track to hit its mandate target for the year.
Good month, bad month
Despite an overall market improvement of 12%, it wasn’t the same for every car brand.
It was good news for Alfa Romeo, BYD, Chevrolet, Cupra, Ford, Genesis, Jeep, Maxus, Mazda, MG, Peugeot, Polestar, Renault, Skoda, Smart, Volkswagen and Volvo. All of these brands outperformed the overall market by at least 10%, which means their registrations were up by at least 24%.
Meanwhile, things weren’t as successful for Abarth, Alpine, Audi, DS Automobiles, GWM, Honda, Jaguar, KGM, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Nissan, SEAT and Subaru. All of these brands underachieved against the overall market by at least 10%, which means they grew by less than 2% or declined in sales.
That means that the following brands were about where you’d expect them to be: Bentley, BMW, Dacia, Fiat, Hyundai, Ineos, Kia, Land Rover, Porsche, Suzuki, Tesla, Toyota and Vauxhall. That means their registrations were within 10% (plus or minus) of the overall market.
As usual, Volkswagen was the UK’s biggest-selling brand – as well as the biggest overall improver, with registration growth of more than 9,000 units – ahead of Ford, BMW, Kia and Toyota.
Puma back on top after a huge month
The Ford Puma was the best-selling new car in March after what was, as far as we can find, the largest single month ever for a single car. More than 11,100 new Pumas hit the streets in March, which exceeds the 10,700 Tesla Model Y registrations in December 2022.
The Kia Sportage was a distant second, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Puma from overtaking it for the overall lead in the 2025 sales race. It was also a good month for the Vauxhall Corsa, pipping the Nissan Qashqai for third place – although the Qashqai remains a few units ahead in year-to-date registrations.
The Qashqai and the smaller Nissan Juke were the only two British-built cars in the top ten, in fourth and fifth places, with no sign of the Mini Cooper.
We’ll have our usual breakdown of the top ten in a separate article shortly.
