Electric car discounts may be unsustainable, warns industry group

The SMMT says discounts on electric cars exceeded £5bn in 2025 while EVs made up 23.4% of new registrations, short of the government's ZEV Mandate targets.

Industry leaders have warned that large discounts on electric cars are unsustainable as UK new-car registrations topped two million in 2025. Nearly 500,000 of those new cars were electric, giving battery electric vehicles a 23.4% market share. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) estimated discounts worth more than £5bn were used to sell electric vehicles last year. The debate centres on the Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) Mandate and its review timetable. Key facts: - 2,020,373 new cars were registered in the UK in 2025, the highest total since the pandemic. - 473,340 electric vehicles were registered in 2025, a 23.4% market share, below the ZEV Mandate headline target of 28%. - The SMMT estimates discounts on electric cars exceeded £5bn in 2025, or roughly £11,000 per EV sold. - The ZEV Mandate allows penalties for shortfalls but also includes flexibilities such as emissions credits and fleet emissions adjustments; those flexibilities were extended in April and fines were reduced. - Industry leaders, including figures from major manufacturers, have asked for the planned 2027 review of the ZEV Mandate to be brought forward. Summary: Officials said large discounts were needed to sell electric vehicles and estimated those discounts exceeded £5bn in 2025. Electric cars accounted for about 23.4% of new registrations, which falls short of current targets and the tougher percentage cited for this year. A formal review of the ZEV Mandate is scheduled for 2027, and industry representatives have urged that review be advanced.