UK Car Sales Are Running on Batteries

Reacting to the new UK car registration figures from SMMT for July, Chief Executive Mike Hawes said: "The automotive sector has had another tough month and is drawing on its fundamental resilience during a third consecutive challenging year as the squeeze on supply bedevils deliveries. While order books are strong, we need a healthy market to ensure the sector delivers the carbon savings government ambitions demand."

Despite the clear crisis the world events of the last few years have caused for the industry, there are certain types of car which are still seeing growing demand. As this infographic with the latest figures as of July 31 shows, demand for petrol and diesel cars in 2022 has shrunk by 19 and 49 percent compared to the same point in 2021, respectively. Battery-powered cars are weathering the storm though, posting growth of 50 percent, while hybrid electric vehicles were the only other type to see growth - 21 percent.

On a monthly basis however, BEV production is showing signs of weakness to the global supply chain issues. As SMMT describes, July was "the weakest monthly uplift recorded by BEVs since the pandemic," adding, "overall growth in the year has reached 50 percent to deliver a 14 percent market share, illustrating the volatility in the supply chain."