Automotive market update - March: Best month on record for electric vehicle sales

Welcome to our monthly market insight article where we provide a snapshot of what’s happening in the UK automotive market. Each month, we highlight key industry updates and trends, including electric vehicle (EV) adoption, plus our vehicle leasing insights.

Here Managing Director Kelly Marshall gives her take on March’s performance.

What’s happening with new car sales in the UK?

March is traditionally the busiest month of the year due to the all-important number plate change - and this March didn’t disappoint.

It was the strongest month for new car sales since 2019, with 380,627 new vehicle registrations, according to the latest data from The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The market was up 6.6% compared to March 2025, with sales increasing from new car buyers as well as fleet and business customers.

Best month ever for EV sales

Electrified vehicles (fully electric and hybrid vehicles) had a breakthrough month, with a record 196,059 registrations.

Of those sales, 86,120 were new fully electric cars, with sales up a record 24.2% compared to this time last year.

Plug-in hybrids - cars with both a rechargeable battery and an engine - were also in demand. Their sales rose 46.9% to take a 13% market share, while so called 'self-charging' hybrids, which don’t need to be plugged in, increased 7.3% to a 15.8% share of the market.

At Gateway2Lease, full EVs made up the vast majority (67%) of our new and used car orders in March across business contract hire (BCH), personal contract hire (PCH) and salary sacrifice through our partner The Electric Car Scheme.

What drove sales in March?

Once again, retail sales drove overall demand in the new car market, according to the SMMT.

But time will tell what impact the Iran crisis has on consumer sentiment, and whether the high price of fuel will start to make drivers consider electric cars more closely.

We continue to see strong demand from businesses and consumers as 68% of our orders in March were BCH and almost a third (32%) were PCH, with a mix of both volume brands like Volkswagen and Toyota, and new entrants like Omoda and Jaecoo, among our best-selling cars.

Gateway2Lease’s top 10 most popular cars in March*

1. Kia Sportage
2. Omoda O5
3. MG ZS
4. Volkswagen Tiguan
5. Jaecoo J5 Electric
6. BYD Seal
7. Toyota C-HR
8. Tesla Model Y
9. MG HS
10. Renault 4 E-Tech

*Includes cars sold through The Electric Car Scheme

The UK’s top 10 best-selling cars in March

1. Jaecoo 7
2. Ford Puma
3. Nissan Qashqai
4. Kia Sportage
5. Vauxhall Corsa
6. Volvo XC40
7. MG HS
8. Volkswagen Golf
9. Tesla Model Y
10. BMW 1 Series