Industry Reacts to Chunky 30% Market share for EVs in August: Gangbusters

  Posted by: user_amy      7th September 2026

Renault’s new car and van registrations grew by 19% year-on-year in August. Commenting on the success, UK Managing Director Adam Wood said:

“Renault is committed to giving its car and van customers a choice of electrified powertrains to suit their needs. Growing our registrations by 19% year-on-year in August clearly underlines that this strategy is working, with our growth principally coming from increased EV and hybrid sales. “Notably, our fastest growth continues to be in EV registrations, with around 50% of our current order bank for cars for fully electric vehicles, and Renault 4 and Renault 5 being the most significant contributors to our success last month. “With fuel prices still high, the benefits of switching to an EV have never been clearer. Renault was a pioneer in electric vehicles more than a decade ago, and it is applying that know-how successfully with market-leading vehicles that are as desirable and fun-to-own as they are practical and affordable.”

Delvin Lane, CEO, InstaVolt:

“Thirty per cent of new cars being electric is another sign that EVs are moving firmly into the mainstream. For charging operators like InstaVolt, it validates the investment we’re already making to build infrastructure ahead of demand. “The record growth in electric vans is another important signal. More electric cars and vans mean greater utilisation of the charging network and an even stronger commercial case for continued investment. The infrastructure is growing, the vehicles are arriving and the two are increasingly moving in step.”

Ginny Buckley, the chief executive of Electrifying.com, the electric car buying and advice site said:

“For me, these figures reinforce why we need to stop constantly moving the goalposts. The EV market is heading in the right direction, and manufacturers are building up a significant surplus of credits. “Of course not all all car makers are equal when it comes to EVs – some have
embraced the transition far more successfully than others – but we can’t let those lagging behind hold the whole market back. Whatever Government decides on the mandate, it needs to give the industry and drivers certainty – and then stick to it.”

Calum James, General Manager for Farizon Auto UK at Jameel Motors, said:

“It’s encouraging to see record numbers of van drivers switching to electric. At Farizon we’re 100% electric, and we’ve seen great levels of interest not just from fleets, but tradespeople too. “While 17% is a way off the mandated target of 24%, electric vans like the Farizon
SV and V7E are showing operators that eLCVs can do the job instead of a diesel, often at a more compelling total cost of ownership.”

Tanya Sinclair, CEO, Electric Vehicles UK:

“While politicians argue about whether Britain is ready for electric cars, drivers are just getting on with buying them. EVs were the biggest single fuel type in August, and the market is already ahead of the ZEV Mandate’s target. So why mess around with it? “What is particularly striking is the difference between manufacturers. Kia’s EV registrations more than doubled year on year, Renault was up 76% and MG 113%,
while others went backwards. That tells us demand isn’t some fixed quantity. Desirable electric cars, priced and marketed well, will sell. Government should be giving consumers and industry confidence in that transition, not reopening the argument every few months.”

James Court, Public Policy Director at Octopus Electric Vehicles, comments:

“Today’s figures are clear: the ZEV mandate is working – and the market is actually ahead of schedule. The industry is comfortably beating its real-world target, so there’s no excuse for weakening the rules now. The worst thing we could do now is slam the brakes on a success story that is gathering pace. What drivers, manufacturers and investors need is certainty to keep the UK firmly in the EV fast lane.”

Simon Smith, CEO, Voltempo:

“The strong growth in electric vans is hugely encouraging because it helps solve the chicken-and-egg problem around charging infrastructure. Vans can provide the demand today that makes commercial charging infrastructure viable, while the same sites can be built to support the rapid growth of electric HGVs that will follow. “Results like these give companies such as Voltempo the confidence to invest ahead of demand. The commercial case for electrification is getting stronger, the infrastructure can be ready, and the direction of travel is clear: the future of road transport is electric.”

Ben Nelmes, CEO at New AutoMotive, said:

“As policymakers and lobbyists wrangle over the fine print of the ZEV mandate, the automotive industry is busy delivering electric cars and vans to consumers who increasingly want to buy them. “While August is a relatively modest month for car and van registrations, it fits with
an emerging theme of accelerating growth in electric car and van uptake in the UK. This is a sign that the UK government’s approach is working. “After a summer of record-breaking heat, it would be profoundly mistaken for government to mess with a story of economic and environmental success.”