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Average UK transaction price for new EVs dropped below that of new petrol cars
5/5/2026
News
Motoring magazine Autotrader found that in March and up to 17 April the average transaction price paid by consumers for new electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK was slightly less than for petrol cars, even though EVs are about 15% more expensive than petrol cars as a whole. That is because of vendor and government incentives, including the Electric Car Grant.
The RAC reports that more than two million EVs were licensed in the UK for use by December 2025, citing government figures. That figure has expanded by almost a third, 31.2% since 2024, it adds.
RAC Senior Policy Officer Rod Dennis said: ‘It took around 14 years for a million battery-electric vehicles to be on the UK roads, so for this figure to double in just a further two is impressive.’
The growth in EVs is driven by unprecedented manufacturer discounting and government incentives, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which has also released new data. It found that about 4.5% of all vehicles driving in the UK (42.5 million) are now zero emissions. More than double that percentage are electrified; battery-electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or fuel-cell electric.
But many customers aren’t buying. The SMMT points out that the UK’s cars are getting older, with the average age rising to 9.7 years, up from 9.5 in 2024, ‘as motorists hold onto vehicles for longer amid cost-of-living pressures and economic uncertainty’. It added: ‘If road transport emissions in terms of both carbon and pollutants are to improve faster, the pace of fleet renewal must also quicken, benefiting both the climate and air quality.’
The UK was the second-biggest EV market in Europe after Germany in terms of new registrations for the second year in a row, according to figures from Germany’s Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW). The UK overtook third-place France in 2024. New EV registrations in 13 European countries more than doubled EV registrations in the US and Canada, although China continues to lead the world.
ZSW said: ‘Even though almost all markets recorded partially significant growth, China now accounts for two thirds of the 21.4 million new registrations, totalling 14.2 million vehicles. Moreover, almost every second newly registered car there is an electric vehicle.’
It reported that there was a total of 74 million EVs on the road in 2025.
