British new car sales in June climbed 11.4 per cent from year-ago ​levels to their strongest since 2019, with battery electric vehicles taking ‌a record share of the market as consumer demand and choices grew, industry data showed on Monday.

New car registrations rose to 213,166 vehicles last month, the Society ​of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) ​accounting for 30 per cent of sales, in line with data ⁠published by New Automotive on Friday.

EV sales have been supported by ​higher fuel prices following the Iran war, a wider choice of ​lower-cost models, government grants and manufacturer discounts. However, growth remains below the pace needed to meet the government’s targets on the path to net zero.

Carmakers are ​rushing to meet Britain’s annual electric vehicles targets but have ​warned the push is leading to heavy discounting and compliance costs, with tougher EU ‌trade ⁠rules due from 2027 also adding to pressure.

“The unsustainable cost of compliance is making the UK an increasingly uncompetitive place to both sell and produce cars – putting investment at risk as other markets ​with less restrictive ​regulation become more ⁠attractive propositions,” SMMT said in a statement.

Sales of BEVs stood at 25 per cent for the year to ​date, with the government targeting 33 per cent annually. SMMT said ​to ⁠meet that target, BEVs would need to account for more than 40 per cent of new registrations in the rest of 2026.

New Automotive data showed ⁠on ​Friday that new car sales rose about 15 per cent ​year-on-year, reflecting different data sources and calculation methods used by the two industry bodies.