Photo: Motortrend
Tesla cars dazzled the UK car market in March 2022 with absolute dominance. Model Y and Model 3 were the top-selling vehicles last month, regardless of propulsion type.
New car registrations in the UK in March 2022 decreased by 14.3% to 243,479 units—the lowest figures for this month since 1998, according to SMMT. Meanwhile, March was the best month for battery electric vehicles, with 39,315 new vehicle registrations, up 78.7% from last year. BEVs captured 16.1% of the market share. This is the highest volume of BEV registrations ever registered in a single month, and means that there were more registrations in March 2022 than in all of 2019.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said,
"March is typically the biggest month of the year for the new car market, so this performance is deeply disappointing and lays bare the challenges ahead. While demand remains robust, this decline illustrates the severity of the global semiconductor shortage, as manufacturers strive to deliver the latest, lowest emission vehicles to eagerly awaiting customers. Placing orders now will be beneficial for those looking to take advantage of incentives and lower running costs for electric vehicles, especially as the Ukraine crisis could affect supply still further, government must do all it can to support consumers so that the growth of electric vehicles can be sustained and the UK's ambitious net zero timetable delivered."
The undoubted and absolute leader in the automotive market in March, regardless of propulsion type, are the cars of the American manufacturer, Tesla. Model Y, which only went on sale in February, was the top-selling car with 6,464 registrations. This is an incredible success and shows the great love of the UK for the car. However, sales of Model 3 did not disappoint either. With a narrow lag of just seven units, the Tesla sedan came in second in the overall car market with 6,457 registrations. Sales data demonstrate a really high result and a confident introduction to the country's automotive market. At this point in the UK, it is no longer a question that Tesla cars are the most popular in the EV market. Now it is clear that Model 3 and Model Y are competing for the title of the best-selling car regardless of power type.
Nearly a thousand units behind the Tesla models, Vauxhall Corsa came in third with 5,515 registrations. In fourth place is the Nissan Qashqai with 5,401 units. Fifth place went to the Hyundai Tucson with 4,876 registrations.
Source: SMMT
Thus, in Q1 2022, in the overall car market in the UK, the Tesla Model Y ranked sixth with 7,774 registrations, while the Model 3 is in seventh place with 7,773 units. At the moment, it is difficult to predict how the situation will develop further, but with the Giga Berlin beginning mass production, Tesla has every chance to see one of its models as the best-selling model in the UK in 2022.
© 2022, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
