News & Features

New vehicle licensing statistics reveal the onward march of EVs

Posted in News on Wednesday, July 15th, 2026

Comparing 2026 Quarter 1 (January to March) with 2025 Quarter 1 (January to March), in the UK there were:

769,000 vehicles registered for the first time, an increase of 5.1%

150,000 zero emission vehicles registered for the first time, an increase of 12.9%, with 146,000 on the road

138,000 zero emission cars registered for the first time, an increase of 14.5% (VEH1153a)

At the end of March 2026, compared to March 2025, in the UK there were:

42.4 million licensed vehicles, an increase of 1.3%

2,148,000 licensed zero emission vehicles, an increase of 29.6% (VEH1103b), with 2,007,000 on the road

1,864,000 zero emission cars, an increase of 32.9%

At the end of March 2026, zero emission vehicles accounted for 5.1% of all licensed vehicles, an increase of 1.1 percentage points compared to March 2025.

Earlier this week, The AA revealed a 30.7% increase in road vehicles’ electricity consumption between 2024 and 2025. In the first quarter of this year, electricity used by EVs jumped a further 28.1%.

It comes as petrol and diesel pump-price averages continue to rise. Yesterday, petrol reached 151.4p a litre, up 0.6p from last week’s six-week low, while diesel now averages 165.2p after being as low as 164.8p last week.

So far this year, UK car owners have had to suffer forecourt prices as high as 159.7p for petrol in late May and 192.4p for diesel in mid April.

Jack Cousens, the AA’s head of roads policy, says: “The latest quarterly update of licensed vehicle numbers shows the onward march of electric vehicles, spurred on initially by the pump-price shock earlier this year and then the enduring trauma of the petrol and diesel cost rollercoaster. This year, car owners who can afford to switch to electric cars have said 'enough is enough' and converted to power from the grid over petrol from the forecourt. The AA EV Readiness Index** showed that even those with less money available have been looking at ways to switch more cheaply: searches on AA Cars for used EVs have increased 78% in the last three months compared to the previous three months.”

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