More new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were sold in the UK than petrol cars over a 12-month period for the first time, according to Carbon Brief analysis of European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) data published on 25 June 20261. In the 12 months to May 2026, UK consumers bought 516,490 new BEVs, against 504,010 new petrol cars1.
The crossover follows a single-month first in December 2022, when BEV sales exceeded petrol sales in one month, a pattern Carbon Brief says has only been repeated consistently over the past year1. The UK milestone follows a similar one for the EU, where more BEVs than petrol cars were sold in the month of December 20251.
Monthly figures for May 2026, the most recent month with ACEA data, show the gap widening. Hybrids remained the most popular type of car in the UK at 56,321 units, but sales grew by just 1,181 year-on-year, or 2%. BEV sales grew 34% to 43,931, while petrol car sales fell 14% to 35,068. Plug-in hybrids, which can run on electricity from the grid or a petrol engine, rose 24% year-on-year to 22,1671.
| Fuel type | Sales, May 2026 | Change year-on-year |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | 56,321 | +2% |
| BEV | 43,931 | +34% |
| Petrol | 35,068 | -14% |
| Plug-in hybrid | 22,167 | +24% |
Source: ACEA data as reported by Carbon Brief1
The two motoring bodies count cars differently. ACEA, whose figures underpin the analysis, counts hybrids separately from petrol and diesel models. The UK's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) counts "mild" hybrids as petrol cars and lists "full" hybrids such as the Toyota Prius in a separate category1. The two sets of figures are therefore not directly comparable.
The figures sit alongside a dispute over the UK's zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which sets a rising annual target for the share of new car sales that must be zero-emissions vehicles, primarily pure battery EVs that run only on electricity1. Carbon Brief reports that the car industry argues demand for these cars is too low to meet the mandate's requirements, despite the industry having over-complied to date1.
"The UK first saw more sales of BEVs than petrol cars in a single month in December 2022, but this pattern has only been repeated on a consistent basis over the past year."
Globally, EV sales grew by 20% in 2025 and accounted for one in every four new cars sold, according to the International Energy Agency, which said global EV sales were set to grow by another 15% in 20261.
Why it matters for households
The shift changes what a new car buyer encounters on forecourts and in classified listings, and it changes the arithmetic of running a home. A battery EV is charged from the grid at home, so a household's motoring fuel bill moves onto its electricity supply rather than its petrol spending. That links transport costs to electricity prices, to the UK electric vehicle registration statistics that track how quickly the fleet is turning over, and to domestic charging arrangements covered in the ev-charging hub.
The wider market-data hub carries the registration figures behind these trends. For households considering how a car's battery might interact with a home's supply, vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home charging is the relevant subject; the sources here do not report on its uptake.
Hybrids remain the single most popular category in the UK on ACEA's counting, and their sales are close to flat, so the petrol engine has not disappeared from new car sales. What has changed is that, over a full year, battery electric cars now account for more new registrations than petrol ones.
What happens next
The ZEV mandate sets a rising annual target for zero-emissions vehicle sales, and Carbon Brief reports that the car industry and some unions are pushing to water it down1. No decision on the mandate's future is reported in these sources.