The UK car parc
Pandemic, regulation and new competition have redrawn the UK car market. Our data tracks the shift — and we share what it tells us with customers, government and the industry at large.
How the car parc is changing
Passed a tipping point
Electric vehicles are now a mainstream part of the UK car parc, with more than two million on the road. In April 2026 electric took a greater share of new car enquiries than petrol for the first time ever, and it has held that lead every month since — in September taking 30% of leads against petrol's 24%. Over the same period the price gap between the two has narrowed from 59% in October 2020 to 14%. With more than one in four new cars now registered with a plug, the fuel make-up of the parc is shifting faster than forecast.
More choice, older cars, tighter supply
More than 75 brands now sell new cars in the UK, up from 45 in 2019, and that number is set to pass 100 by 2030 — with new, largely Chinese, entrants driving all of the market's growth. As choice widens, loyalty is thin: just 27% of buyers chose the same brand again, down from 28% a year earlier, rising to 36% among new car buyers. At the same time the parc is ageing, as the Covid-era drop in new supply works through into the five-to-seven-year-old segment — the heart of the used market — intensifying competition for the most sought-after stock.
The car parc visualised: how supply shocks & shifting demand are reshaping the cars on the road
Vehicles in operation, millions. Forecast from 2025 onwards.
Electric is now a permanent fixture on UK roads, and used demand is rising across every age band
2.3m
electric cars now
on the UK's roads
New entrants are widening the field and capturing all of the new car market's growth
75+
brands now selling new cars
in the UK, up from 45 in 2019
A drop in new supply has worked through the parc, leaving an older profile of vehicles on the road.
45%
of the 2026 car parc is
more than 10 years old
How we turn change
into ongoing value
29%
electric's share of new car enquiries in April 2026, overtaking petrol for the first time ever
21%
of EV owners chose the same brand again, the lowest of any fuel type and the market's clearest conquest opportunity
44 days
average time to sell a used car for a mid-size franchise retailer trading via Auto Trader
How we turn change
into ongoing value
We help retailers stay ahead of a faster-moving parc through three areas of focus:
Electrification
Pricing and positioning a fast-growing EV parc
As electric moves from the margins to the mainstream, the cars entering the used parc are changing too. Demand for used EVs has grown across every age band — strongly enough that supply turned negative for the first time in April and May, with limited stock tempering growth since. Yet franchise retention of three-to-five-year-old electric and plug-in stock sits at just 40%, against 61% for petrol. We give retailers the data to price, source and retail electric with confidence, so the right cars reach the right buyers at the right value.
Conquest
Winning in a fragmented, lower-loyalty market
With over 75 brands now competing for UK buyers — rising beyond 100 by 2030 — and loyalty at a low of just 27%, falling to 21% among EV owners, every sale has become a conquest opportunity. New entrants are scaling at pace: the three Chery Group brands reached a combined 6.6% share between January and August, and one in three enquiries across petrol, hybrid and EV now falls in the keenly contested £20–£30k band. We help retailers see where demand is shifting and meet buyers in the segments and price points where the market is won.
Sourcing
Securing the right stock, keeping the right cars
As supply tightens across the core of the parc, sourcing — and retention — is where margin is made or lost. Franchise retailers keep just 44% of their three-to-five-year-old electric and plug-in cars, against 64% for petrol, while valuable part-exchange stock too often leaks to the wider market. By showing retailers which traded cars to retail themselves, we turn a leak into a profit process — prime stock that sells quickly and at a strong price, instead of being let go.
01
Electrification
02
Conquest
03
Sourcing
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