Sales of petrol and diesel cars slumped in May as the price of Brent crude surged and the EU prepared to restrict imports of Russian oil following the country’s war on Ukraine.
New car registrations in the UK dropped by a fifth (20.6%) last month to 124,394 sales, in the second weakest May for car sales recorded since 1992, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show.
Bucking the trend, sales of battery and hybrid electric vehicles rose as consumers sought to sidestep the rising cost of petrol.
The car trade organisation said the market was hit by supply shortages, which “continued to hamper new purchases” and existing orders, as manufacturers were still coping with the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It said the car market was a third (32.3%) below pre-pandemic levels in 2019 “despite strong order books”.
Petrol car registrations dropped by a quarter (25.1%) to 56,767 new registrations, though petrol-fuelled vehicles still accounted for a 45.6% market share as overall car registration volumes fell.
Registrations of diesel cars dropped 50.8% compared to a year earlier, to just 7,614, the data showed, giving diesel a market share of just 6.1% in May 2022.
Battery electric vehicle registrations rose 17.7%, giving battery-powered cars a 12.4% market share, up from 8.4% a year ago.
Hybrid electric cars increased 12% to 14,561 registrations, with non-plug-in hybrids occupying a market share of 11.7% in May 2022, up from 8.3% in the equivalent period of 2021. Plug-in hybrid sales fell 25.5%.