Britain’s new-car market continued to expand in August 2026, with registrations rising sharply despite the month traditionally being one of the quietest periods of the year.

A total of 94,236 new cars were registered, up 13.7% from August 2025 and marking the ninth consecutive month of growth. It was also the strongest August since the current twice-yearly number plate system was introduced.

Ford Puma Keeps The Lead

The Ford Puma remained the UK’s most popular new car, recording 2,795 registrations during August. Chinese brands also continued to gain ground. The Jaecoo 7 finished second with 2,022 registrations, followed by the MG HS with 1,785. Another Jaecoo model, the Jaecoo 5, placed fourth with 1,670 registrations.

The Kia Sportage completed the top five with 1,531 units. Further down the ranking were the Omoda 5, Mini Cooper, Ford Kuga, Mercedes-Benz CLA and Vauxhall Frontera.

The strong position of Jaecoo and Omoda shows how quickly newer Chinese marques are establishing themselves in the British market alongside long-established European, Japanese and Korean manufacturers.

Private Buyers Return In Greater Numbers

Growth was visible across every major sales channel.

Private registrations increased 19% year on year to 38,460 cars, while fleet demand rose 10.1% to 53,934 units. Business registrations, although representing a much smaller share of the market, increased 14.5%.

Fleet buyers still accounted for 57.2% of all registrations, while private customers represented 40.8%. August normally represents only around 4% of annual UK registrations because many drivers delay purchases until the September number plate change. That makes the scale of this year’s increase particularly notable.

Tesla Model 3 Tops The EV Chart

Electric cars also enjoyed another strong month. Battery-electric vehicle registrations rose 27.7% from a year earlier to 28,063 units, giving EVs a 29.8% market share. That was the second-highest monthly share recorded so far in 2026.

The Tesla Model 3 became August’s best-selling electric car with 1,296 registrations. The Tesla Model Y followed with 884, narrowly ahead of the Vauxhall Frontera on 875 and the Jaecoo E5 on 855.

The Mercedes-Benz CLA ranked fifth with 821 registrations, followed by the Skoda Enyaq, Skoda Elroq, Renault 5, Kia EV3 and Audi Q6 e-tron.

The Renault 5, which had previously led the electric-car ranking, fell to eighth place with 736 registrations.

Plug-In Hybrids Grow Even Faster

Plug-in hybrids recorded the fastest percentage growth of the major powertrains in August. Registrations climbed 39.8%, giving them a 14.5% share of the market. Conventional hybrids increased 26.3% and accounted for 12.7% of registrations. Petrol was the only major category to decline, falling 3.5%, while diesel registrations rose slightly by 4%.

Across the first eight months of 2026, battery-electric cars represented 25.62% of all new registrations, up from 21.86% during the same period last year.

EV Targets Remain Under Review

The current Zero Emission Vehicle mandate sets a 33% headline target for cars in 2026, although manufacturers can use various compliance flexibilities within the scheme. The government launched a formal review in August examining future annual targets, existing flexibilities and the broader route towards zero-emission new-car sales by 2035.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said the August figures showed that drivers were responding to expanding EV choice and attractive offers. He also stressed that September would provide a more meaningful test because of its much higher sales volumes.

August therefore offered encouraging signs for both the overall market and electrified cars. The bigger question is whether that momentum can continue through the much busier autumn registration period.