UK car registrations fell for a fifth successive month in February, despite a surge in electric vehicle sales ahead of tax changes in April.
Some 84,054 cars were registered across Britain over the month, marking a 1.0% decline year on year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Petrol and diesel sales fell by 17.3% and 15.1%, respectively, with the former still accounting for the majority of registrations as hybrid and fully electric sales increased.
Battery electric sales surged by 41.7% to 21,244, which SMMT dubbed “unsurprising” given April’s deadline for EV drivers to avoid facing vehicle excise duty for the first time.
Despite the surge, battery electric sales remained off the government’s mandated 28% for the year at 25.3% of total car sales so far, SMMT flagged.
Among February's bestsellers were Tesla Inc’s Model 3 and Y vehicles, behind only the Mini Cooper, the figures also showed.
Elon Musk's Tesla enjoyed a 21% increase in sales at 3,852 for February, after seeing a slump in sales across Europe in January.
BYD Co, with which Tesla has tussled for the spot as the world's largest EV maker, saw UK sales rocket 334% to 1,177 in the meantime.
But things for Tesla remained down in other markets, with a second tough month in Germany, where registrations fell 76% last month.
German registrations overall were down 6.4%, though Tesla rivals in the electric-vehicle market overall saw sales improve 31% year-over-year.