Used EV sales jump 67% as UK vehicle output falls

Plus 14 more stories on BIK, ULEZ compliance, residuals and fleet costs this week. · 15 stories · 01 Sep 2026

Used EV demand has doubled just as new supply tightens, a combination that flatters residuals now but leaves fleet ordering exposed later in the cycle. This issue tracks what that squeeze means for replacement planning, alongside the usual run of compliance and cost signals worth acting on this week.

Illustration · THRIVE

Battery electric cars took more than one in 18 used car transactions between April and June, up from one in 30 a year earlier, as the overall used market passed two million sales in a quarter for the first time in half a decade - a sign the transition is moving in the right direction, even if not as rapidly as SMMT hoped. That volume matters more than any single registration number: it's the used market that will eventually set residual values and decide whether fleets can defleet EVs without taking a bath. (SMMT)

The wider SMMT update this week is really about energy costs squeezing production just as electrification starts to bite. July saw UK vehicle output decline, which SMMT says reflects intense pressure on manufacturers, citing model changeovers, trade and investment uncertainty, shutdown timing and weak overseas orders; separately, it warns UK industrial energy costs will stay far higher than European rivals' even after the forthcoming British Industrial Competitiveness scheme lands. That's a direct line from factory gate to fleet order book: if UK plants can't compete on cost, model availability and lead times for fleet-spec vehicles are the first casualties. (SMMT)

There is a brighter counter-signal. Electrified car production rose for the first time this year and now accounts for more than four in ten UK-built cars, with over 27 zero-emission car, van, truck and bus models in production or announced for UK plants. An independent industry outlook reckons output can return to growth from 2027, with potential to reach one million units by the turn of the decade - assuming the conditions hold. (SMMT)

Why it matters: fleet buyers are reading two charts at once - a used EV market growing fast (BEV transactions up 67% in Q2) and finally building the resale liquidity that underpins whole-life cost calculations, and a domestic production base under real cost strain that could constrain supply of the very models fleets need. SMMT is blunt that meaningful reform of the ZEV Mandate has to come quickly to give industry a credible, stable regulatory environment, which feeds straight into which models manufacturers prioritise for the UK and at what discount. Get the mandate settings wrong and you either get manufacturer-funded discounting that flatters short-term acquisition costs, or supply rationing that pushes lead times out again.

Trade policy adds another layer procurement teams can't ignore. UK-EU automotive trade is worth €80 billion a year, and forthcoming rules of origin requirements under the TCA threaten to complicate that flow just as electrified supply chains are being built out. Meanwhile the UK-India free trade agreement came into force in July, but exporters are still waiting on quota allocation to access reduced tariffs, and from next week UK firms gain access to the CPTPP for trade with Canada. None of that changes next quarter's order, but it shapes where manufacturers site production and which markets get priority allocation over the next few years. (SMMT)

For fleet decision-makers the practical read is this: the used EV market is deepening enough to start trusting residual forecasts with more confidence than a year ago, but new-vehicle supply and pricing remain hostage to energy costs and mandate reform that neither manufacturers nor SMMT can yet promise will resolve. Procurement teams should factor a wider-than-usual band into residual and supply assumptions for 2027-model-year orders until the energy cost and ZEV Mandate questions are actually settled, not just promised.

(Source: SMMT)

Illustration · THRIVE

Toyota is marking 60 years of Corolla with a limited-run anniversary edition of its British-built hatchback, distinguished by Boreal Blue paint, a contrasting black roof and new 17-inch alloys. For fleets running Corolla on choice lists, it's a small but real variant to track when orders open at Toyota centres in October. (Toyota GB)

Read the full story →

Illustration · THRIVE

SMMT's July intake spans nine new members, from an autonomous-driving specialist to an automotive installers' trade body. It's a membership list, nothing more.

Read the full story →

Illustration · THRIVE

Continental has built a concept tyre with around 43 percent recycled content under an EU-funded research effort called Project ZEVRA - a marker of how far tyre-makers can push circularity when the chemistry allows it. For fleets watching sustainability reporting creep into procurement scorecards, it's a useful proof point rather than a product on the shelf just yet. (Continental)

Read the full story →

Illustration · THRIVE

The Treasury wants to hand the Bank of England a new secondary objective: supporting innovation in payment systems and emerging forms of digital money, including stablecoins. For fleets, this is the early groundwork for how tomorrow's fuel cards, invoicing rails and settlement systems might work - not an immediate change to your terminal, but a signal of where the plumbing is heading. (HM Treasury)

Read the full story →

Illustration · THRIVE

Skoda has pulled the wraps off the Peaq, a seven-seat electric SUV pitched squarely at family buyers - and by extension, at fleets running people-carriers or MPVs that need an EV alternative with genuine third-row space. That's a segment where electric options remain thin on the ground in the UK.

Read the full story →

Illustration · THRIVE

Gridserve will put its Electric Freightway charging network through a five-day stress test at the 2026 Greenfleet Mythbusters EV Rally, running 7-11 September. For fleets still asking whether electric HGVs can actually do a working week's driving, this is the kind of real-mileage evidence that spec sheets can't provide. (Gridserve)

Read the full story →

Illustration · THRIVE

The refreshed Tesla Model Y now starts at £41,990 on the road, about £3,000 below the outgoing entry-level Rear-Wheel Drive car's £44,990, though the Standard's Supercharging peaks at 175kW, according to Tesla's UK specification. The figures were reported by The Electric Car Scheme. For fleets weighing salary sacrifice schemes, that's a meaningfully cheaper entry point, though with a lower charging peak.

Read the full story →

Illustration · THRIVE

Tesla will unveil its Semi electric truck for the European market at IAA Hannover, running 15-20 September, with technical specifications and launch details confirmed on the day, according to SMMT. For UK heavy fleet operators eyeing zero-emission options on longer routes, this is Tesla's clearest signal yet of how the Semi might reach European roads, nearly nine years after Tesla first showed it off. The wait has been a long one: the Semi was originally revealed back in 2017, and volume production only started this April at a dedicated plant next to Tesla's Nevada gigafactory. Tesla has talked up annual output of up to 50,000 units once that facility is running at full tilt, and the Long Range version carries an 822kWh battery, according to SMMT. None of that guarantees UK right-hand-drive availability, homologation timing or pricing, all of which remain unconfirmed.

Why this matters: Heavy goods operators weighing electric options against diesel replacement cycles now have a firm date to watch for European specifics. Until Hannover delivers actual numbers on range, payload and price, treat the Semi as a watch-list item rather than a procurement option - but put September in the diary.

Read the full story →

Illustration · THRIVE

Ofgem's price cap rises 4% for a typical dual-fuel household paying by Direct Debit from 1 October to 31 December 2026, but electricity bills stay broadly stable: on a default tariff paid by Direct Debit the average electricity rate is 26.32p per kWh with a 54.83p daily standing charge, and VAT has been removed. Ofgem says most of the rise comes from gas, and households that don't use gas will see an increase of less than 1%. (Ofgem) THRIVE's real cost to charge data compares home charging with the HMRC advisory electric rate.

Read the full story →

Illustration · THRIVE

The maths behind a write-off decision is straightforward, and it is worth knowing before a fleet tries to argue a vehicle back onto the road. Insurers increasingly lean on a simple ratio - estimated repair cost divided by actual cash value - to decide total loss, and the thresholds that trigger it vary widely by jurisdiction, per Inspektlabs.

Read the full story →

Illustration · THRIVE

Dealer Auction has published a self-authored list of platform quirks worth a skim if you buy or sell through it - the useful bits sit below the marketing gloss. Chief among them: buyer fees run about £250 cheaper per vehicle than rival auction providers on average, which adds up fast across a defleet programme, according to Dealer Auction.

Read the full story →

Illustration · THRIVE

Stagecoach, self-styled as the UK's largest bus and coach operator, is throwing its full weight behind September's Catch the Bus Month, running a myth-busting campaign designed to shift commuters out of cars. For fleets with grey-fleet exposure or commuter mileage on the books, that's a nudge with real potential to dent car-first habits.

Read the full story →

Illustration · THRIVE

Four years: that's the outer edge of cap hpi's residual value horizon for used light commercial vehicles, with forecasts running from twelve months right out to that point in the Future Light Commercial Vehicle Overview. For finance teams sweating over contract lengths on vans and pick-ups, that's a genuinely useful planning window - long enough to price a four-year lease with some confidence, short enough to stay credible.

Read the full story →

Illustration · THRIVE

New LCV registrations climbed by just under 22% year on year in July, hitting 28,578 units and marking the fourth straight month of growth for the sector, according to cap hpi. For anyone building a van order book, that's a market with genuine momentum behind it, not a one-off blip.

Read the full story →