UK Car Sales Top 2 Million as Consumers Warm to Chinese Brands

New-car sales in the UK surpassed 2 million last year for the first time since the pandemic, buoyed in part by automakers offering more than £5 billion ($6.7 billion) worth of discounts on electric vehicles.

Registrations rose 3.5% to 2.02 million in 2025, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said Tuesday. Sales of fully electric models climbed around a quarter, accounting for 23% of the market. That’s an improvement over 2024 but still short of the government’s EV sales mandate of 28% — and 10 percentage points below this year’s target.