2021 a ‘desperately disappointing’ year for UK new car market

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ike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, described 2021 as ‘desperately disappointing’ for the UK new car market, with registrations seeing just 1% growth on a pandemic-torn 2020.

The statistics revealed that 1.65m new cars entered the UK market during the year – 28.7% down on pre-pandemic 2019, representing the second worst year since 1992.

2021 however did represent the most successful year in history for electric vehicle uptake as more battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were registered than over the previous five years combined Some 190,727 new BEVs joined Britain’s roads, along with 114,554 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), meaning 18.5% of all new cars registered in 2021 can be plugged in.

This is in addition to the 147,246 hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) registered which took a further 8.9% market, meaning 27.5% of the total market is now electrified in some form.

The UK finished 2021 as the third largest European market for new car registrations but the second largest by volume for plug-in vehicles and the second largest for BEVs. It is only in ninth position overall, however, in Europe for BEVs by market share, underlining the progress still to be made, despite the UK having among the most ambitious targets of all major markets with the end of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars scheduled for 2030.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said, “It’s been another desperately disappointing year for the car industry as Covid continues to cast a pall over any recovery. Manufacturers continue to battle myriad challenges, with tougher trading arrangements, accelerating technology shifts and, above all, the global semiconductor shortage which is decimating supply.