The Shape of the UK Car Market Autumn 2025: What’s Really Going On?

If you’ve glanced at car news lately, you’ll know the market has been a bit of a rollercoaster. One month EV sales surge, the next the headlines claim “buyers are turning back to petrol”, and somewhere in the middle, someone is convinced petrol cars will be banned next Tuesday and we’ll all be riding electric scooters run by AI forever.

So this month, we’ve cut through the noise.
No hype. No tribalism. Just a clear picture of what’s actually happening – and how it might affect your next car. We’ve dug through the latest SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders) stats to see what’s really going on.

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🚗 New Car Market: The Big Shift That’s Actually Happening

Let’s start with the basics: more than half of all new cars sold in recent months have been electrified, meaning hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or fully electric. Petrol is still the single biggest chunk, but it’s shrinking steadily, and diesel continues to fade into the background.

Here’s the real headline though:
Battery electric cars took around a quarter of all new registrations in October (25.4%), their strongest showing in almost a year, helped by discounts, more affordable models and the return of government grants. But petrol is still comfortably in front at about 44% of the market, so this is a steady tide rather than a tidal wave.

The key point: electrification isn’t a fad, but petrol isn’t disappearing next Tuesday either. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling something.

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🔌 So… Are EVs Back? Yes, but not in the way social media says.

The interesting bit is how EV buying behaviour is changing.

There was a big jump in electric registrations during the plate-change month – no surprise there, fleets always buy in bulk. But the momentum continued into the following month too. Not a spike, not a crash… just slow, sustained growth.

What’s driving it?

• A wider range of cars at the cheaper end
• Manufacturers discounting again
• The return of the £3,750 electric car grant for certain models
• People realising public charging isn’t quite the wild west it was three years ago
• And, frankly, the simple maths: if you can charge at home, running an EV is ridiculously cheap

But – and this is the important bit – people aren’t abandoning petrol or hybrids. Instead, the market is diversifying. Different drivers want different things, and finally the car market is providing those options.

That’s actually good news for anyone buying a car in the next 12–24 months.

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🔁 Used Car Market: The Part Nobody Talks About (But Should)

This is where things get really interesting.

According to the SMMT, the used market is having its strongest run since before the pandemic. Stock is flowing again, prices are calming down, and choice is finally returning.

But here’s the standout stat:
Used EV sales jumped more than 40% recently, hitting their highest-ever share at around 4% of all used car sales – roughly one in every 25 cars changing hands.

Why does this matter?

Because the second-hand market is where most of us actually buy.

• If you don’t like EVs, don’t worry, Petrol is still King and you have as much choice as before – it just means the long-term trend is shifting.
• If you are interested in EVs you have plenty of affordable choice. More “normal” drivers are dipping a toe into electric. And fears about battery life are easing as real-world evidence stacks up

Put simply: the used EV market is finally behaving like a normal used-car market.

Not hype. Not panic. Just a maturing product entering its natural lifecycle.

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🧭 So What Does All This Mean for Your Next Car?

Here’s the useful bit – the reason we wrote this article in the first place.

1️⃣ Petrol is safe – but its dominance is fading

If you want petrol, you’re still spoilt for choice. But the long-term trend is clear: each year, its share quietly erodes.

That doesn’t mean avoid petrol.

2️⃣ Hybrids are the quiet winners

Hybrids continue to sell strongly because they’re the comfortable middle ground. They’ll likely remain a safe bet for years to come.

If you want predictability, hybrids deliver.

3️⃣ EVs are settling into reality – not hype

They’re no longer for early adopters only.
Prices are dropping. Used stock is rising. Charging is improving. Grants have returned.

If you can charge at home, EV running costs are still hard to match.

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📌 The Bottom Line

There’s no doubt the market is changing – but not in the dramatic, apocalyptic way the headlines sometimes suggest. Your petrol car isn’t about to turn into a worthless antique, and your EV isn’t going to explode or become an expensive paperweight.

This transition is happening slowly, over years and decades, and we still don’t know exactly what shape it will settle at. And that’s fine. Because for once, the market is doing something sensible: it’s giving us more choice, not less.

Petrol, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, fully electric – they all still have a place. Different drivers want different things, and right now, the industry is big enough to cater for all of them. You don’t need to panic-buy the “right” fuel type or avoid the “wrong” one.

The real takeaway?
Buy the car that fits the way you live. The rest of the market will take a very long time to catch up – and by then, the choice will probably be even better.