Sales Up at BYD and Down at Tesla as Electric Cars Take a Quarter of the Market

One in four new cars sold in October were fully electric battery vehicles, latest figures confirm, highlighting a decisive shift in motoring trends. Electric car sales recorded a 23 per cent year on year rise last month to reach 36800 units—accounting for 254 per cent of the market. By contrast, total vehicle registrations edged up only marginally by 05 per cent to 144948.

So far this year, electric car sales have climbed by 87000 to a total of 386000, effectively constituting the bulk of market growth for 2025. Over the first ten months, total registrations increased by just 390 per cent or 65000 units, bringing the tally to 172 million.

Industry sources suggest that the resurgence of incentives—most notably the electric car grant of up to £3750 on new zero emission vehicles priced below £37000—has contributed to the surge in demand.

While early market leader Tesla experienced a 36 per cent decline in UK sales so far this year at 37500 units, established automakers and Chinese entrants pressed their advantage. Data from consultancy New Automotive notes that Volkswagen electric sales surged 67 per cent year on year to 28800, while Ford more than tripled its zero emission deliveries to 22100. BYD, China’s electric champion, spearheaded growth with a startling 250 per cent rise to 21000 units.

Breaking down the wider electrified segment, October witnessed sales of 17600 plug in hybrids and 19200 hybrid petrol battery cars. Together, these electric variants outsold pure petrol engine cars, whose registrations dropped by 11 per cent over the month to 64300.

Projections by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders suggest that new fully electric cars will represent 232 per cent of the annual market, up from the 224 per cent recorded in the year’s first ten months. This keeps the industry within sight of the government’s Zero Emissions Vehicle mandate of 28 per cent for 2025—although concessions for manufacturers with substantial fleet hybridisation mean the effective target will be below the headline figure.

Analysts observe that the car industry’s current momentum places it ahead of mandatory compliance for this year. Colin Walker, head of transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, remarked that more manufacturers are proving adept at designing and delivering electric cars to British motorists. Still, the SMMT cautions that keeping pace with steeper ZEV mandates in 2026 and beyond will be challenging. For 2026, the threshold rises to 33 per cent and to 38 per cent by 2027. Current forecasts lag behind these ambitions, suggesting market shares of 288 per cent and 322 per cent respectively in the next two years.