VAUXHALL'S electric car range shone in the UK new car sales charts, according to the latest new car registration figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The Corsa Electric was the best-selling Small Electric Car in June, with 262 sold, while the Mokka Electric topped the Small Electric SUV sales in June with 1,136 sold.

Petrol variants of the Corsa also topped the Small Car segment, with the Corsa the UK's third-best selling car in June, with 4,146 registered and the second-best selling car so far this year.

The Astra Plug-in Hybrid was also the third-best selling plug-in hybrid in the UK in June, with 76 registered in the month.

Overall, electric vehicles made up more than a quarter of the new car sales in June as total new registrations rose by 25.8 per cent to 177,266 units - the eleventh consecutive month of growth.

The best-selling non-electric car in June was the Ford Puma with 5,453 sales with the Tesla Model Y topping the list for June with 5,539 registrations.

With waiting times easing and pent-up demand being met, the automotive sector is a rare bright spot in a gloomy economic landscape even though overall market volumes remain below pre-pandemic levels.

Growth in June was driven predominantly by large fleet registrations, up 37.9 per cent to 92,699 units, reflecting the normalisation of supply.

Private demand grew more modestly, up 14.8 per cent to 79,798 units.

Deliveries of petrol cars increased 22.7 per cent, to remain the most popular powertrain, while those of hybrids and plug-in hybrids rose, by 40.1 per cent and 65.5 per cent respectively.

Diesel registrations were down 13.5 per cent.

Battery electric vehicle registrations, meanwhile, grew again, with the segment up 39.4 per cent as 31,700 buyers chose to get behind the wheel of a zero emission car - 17.9 per cent of the total market.

It is business and fleets, however, rather than private buyers, that continue to drive this growth, thanks to the attractive fiscal incentives on offer.

Almost a million (949,720) new cars have now joined UK roads in the first six months of 2023, with total registrations up 18.4 per cent and BEV uptake at record levels with 152,968 deliveries so far this year - some 13 times greater than the same period in 2019.

TheBEV market share for 2023 is now 16.1 per cent but, with a zero emission vehicle mandate requiring 22 per cent BEV registrations per manufacturer due to come into force in less than six months' time, more needs to be done to accelerate the transition.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive,said: "The new car market is growing back and growing green, as the attractions of electric cars become apparent to more drivers. But meeting our climate goals means we have to move even faster.

"Most electric vehicle owners enjoy the convenience and cost saving of charging at home but those that do not have a driveway or designated parking space must pay four times as much in tax for the same amount of energy. This is unfair and risks delaying greater uptake."