New Passenger Car Registrations

UK New Passenger Car Registrations measure new cars registered with the DVLA in each calendar month. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT, the UK motor industry trade body) compiles the census (a full count, not a sample). Its Vehicle Data Hub takes dealer-network and direct-sales records into MVRIS (Motor Vehicle Registration Information System), which covers cars and commercial vehicles under 6 tonnes.

The indicator covers new cars only. It excludes used sales, road stock, factory output, vans, trucks and buses, and SMMT calls it a key demand, trends and consumer behaviour signal.

SMMT publishes 1 calendar month plus year-to-date (January to that month) on the 4th working day at 9am UK time. Initial numbers are preliminary (subject to change) and full and final numbers follow on Monday at 9am UK time, moving after weekends or holidays. Each release gives totals, market shares by fuel, buyer, brand and segment, top models and chief-executive commentary; extra cuts are sold separately. Monthly data show short and seasonal moves and year-to-date data show broader performance; moves are read year-on-year with no target.

The headline total moves with fuel mix and buyer mix, with no fixed weights.

• Total new car registrations: all new cars registered in the month and summed January to that month.
• Petrol: traditional petrol cars, including petrol mild hybrids.
• Diesel: conventional diesel cars, including diesel mild hybrids.
• Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV): fully electric cars with zero tailpipe emissions.
• Hybrid (HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) cars: engine-charged hybrids and cars charged by plugging in, both in the older alternatively fuelled (AFV) group.
• Private, fleet, business buyers: individuals, firms operating 25 or more vehicles, and firms operating fewer than 25; fleet is typically the largest share.

In its 5 December 2019 release for November 2019 the market fell 1.3% to 156,621 cars, while year-to-date registrations fell 2.7% to 2.2 million. Alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFV, older alternatively fuelled group) hit a record 10.2% share at 16,052 cars as battery electric cars rose 228.8% to 4,652. Plug-in hybrids rose 34.8% and hybrids rose 15.0%, petrol grew 2.0% to 62.2% of the total, and diesel fell 27.2%. Private demand fell 6.1% and business fell 3.2% while fleet rose 2.8%, so the headline hid opposite moves in fuel and buyer splits.

1. Collect: take all new-car DVLA records for calendar month M from dealer networks and direct sales into MVRIS.
2. Cleanse: SMMT applies checks to improve accuracy before release.
3. Total: sum cleansed records for month M. Year-to-date sums January to M.
4. Year-on-year change: compare month M with the same month 1 year earlier. For example, 156,621 cars down 1.3% implies a base of about 158,685 cars.
5. Market share: divide 1 part by the total and multiply by 100. For example, 16,052 cars out of 156,621 equals about 10.2%.
6. Vintage: first publish preliminary numbers (subject to change), then republish them as full and final on Monday at 9am.