Fleet registrations take 57% market share in August, but September will be 'real acid test' says SMMT

September 4, 2026

New car registrations grew by 13.7% in August 2026 with fleets taking a 57.2% market share, marking a 10.1% increase compared to August 2025. However, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) warns that EV registrations are still 'significantly below' the Government mandate target.

So far in 2026, EVs represent a 25.6% market share, which is still significantly below the 33% mandate target. SMMT Chief Executive, Mike Hawes, said the industry is doing 'everything it can' to to help drivers switch, but added 'mandate targets must be grounded in the reality of demand', concluding that September will be 'the real acid test' of new vehicle registrations.

"Government’s review is the right move so we can ensure the transition is kept on track, consumer choice protected and the jobs and investment necessary to deliver net zero and economic growth are safeguarded.” Said Hawes.

The SMMT reports 94,236 vehicles were registered this month, which is up by nearly 12,000 compared to August 2025. This was led by the Ford Puma, Kia Sportage and MG HS. Fleets took a majority share of 53,934 units followed by 38,460 private registrations (40.8% share) and business 1,842 (2.0% share).

In 2026 so far, a total of 1,388,735 new vehicles were registered and fleets accounted for 809,511 of them, giving the sector a 58.3% market share. That's an increase of 7.6% over the same time eight-month period in 2025.

Pure-petrol vehicles took the majority of registrations in August with a 38.3% market share, followed by battery electric vehicles (BEVs) at 29.8% led by the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y. The increase in EV registrations comes as more car models become eligible for the UK Government's Electric Car Grant, which includes the Volkswagen ID.3 Neo.

Furthermore, the SMMT reports that drivers can now choose from more than 170 EV models across all vehicle segments - representing a huge increase over the options from only several years before.

The biggest increase, however, comes from Plug-in Hybrids (PHEVs), representing a 39.8% increase in August 2026 over the same month in 2025. As a result, PHEVs took a 14.5% market share this month and 13.3% so far in 2026.

For fleets, these August figures represent a growing appetite for zero-emission vehicles in the sector, but the increase in demand for PHEVs highlights that not every company car driver or private buyer is necessarily ready to make the full switch.