Electric vehicle (EV) sales in the UK hit a record high last month, according to the latest industry figures.

Sales of pure battery electric vehicles (BEV) grew by almost a third to 72,779 in September, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT), while sales of plug-in hybrid cars grew even faster.

It means sales of fully electric or hybrid vehicles made up more than half of all new car registrations in the UK last month.

The SMMT said sales were driven by carmakers offering discounts, a larger choice of models, and the introduction of the government’s grant scheme.

While registrations of BEVs rose last month, the overwhelming majority – 71.4% – were bought by businesses or to be used in fleets.

However, the number of private buyers of fully electric cars has risen in the past year, and the SMMT said zero-emission vehicles now accounted for more than one in five (22.1%) new cars registered so far in 2025.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said electrified vehicles were “powering market growth after a sluggish summer”.

Industry investment in electric vehicles was “paying off”, he said, despite consumer demand “trailing ambition”.

Mr Hawes added the government’s electric car grant scheme, in which eligible vehicles get a discount of up to £3,750 as part of efforts to encourage drivers to move away from petrol and diesel vehicles, would help “break down one of the barriers” holding back people making the switch.

Overall, the number of new vehicle registrations – 312,887 – marked the best performing September since 2020, which despite the Covid lockdown restrictions, remains the best so far this decade, according to the SMMT.

The strong month comes as the UK car industry navigates the economic impact of US tariffs and Jaguar Land Rover’s shutdown of production due to a major cyber-attack.

The Kia Sportage, Ford Puma and Nissan Qashqai were the best-selling cars in September, but two Chinese models including the Jaecoo 7 and BYD Seal U were in the top 10.

The government said more than 20,000 people had benefited from EV grants to date, which apply to models from several well-known brands such as Ford, Toyota, Vauxhall and Citroen.

Under the scheme, the discount applies to new eligible car models costing up to £37,000, with the most environmentally friendly ones seeing the biggest reductions. Some 36 models have been cleared for discounts of at least £1,500.

Ian Plummer, Autotrader’s chief commercial officer, said the grant scheme had given a “real lift to the market”.

“Since July, enquiries for new electric vehicles on Autotrader are up by almost 50%. For models eligible for the grant, interest has more than doubled.”