Our take on the latest Car registrations (Fri 2 Sept 2022)
Small car registrations up 28%pa in the three months to August
Large car registrations down 26%pa in the three months to August
Full battery electric vehicles comprise 15% of registrations in August
The key numbers...
- Car registrations totalled 18,879 in August, up 61% from August 2021, when only 11,705 vehicles were registered due to the Delta lockdown.
- Registrations of smaller cars remain strong, with new small cars up 43%pa and used small cars up 15%pa in the three months to August. Registrations of larger cars continued to fall in August, with new large cars down 0.9%pa and used large cars down 45%pa in the three months to August.
- The number of rental cars registered was almost triple the number in August 2021 (up 191%), with 1,507 rentals registered.
- The number of hybrid vehicles registered fell 9.5% from July, bringing hybrid’s share of registrations down from 39% to 30% in August. Full battery electric vehicles were popular in August, with 2,852 vehicles registered, the strongest month on record.
Rental car momentum picks up
Annual registrations
...and our reaction
- Registrations for August continue to demonstrate that vehicle size is a key factor in car purchases, particularly since the introduction of the Clean Car Discount scheme.
- High prices for used car mean that buyers are also favouring new vehicles. New car registrations of any size were up 15%pa in the three months to August, while used car registrations fell 25%pa in the same period.
- The initial popularity of hybrid vehicles in the wake of the feebate scheme’s introduction waned slightly in August, with fewer non-plug-in and plug-in hybrids registered meaning the share of monthly registrations fell for both hybrid vehicle types.
- However, internal combustion engines didn’t make up a larger portion of registrations in August, as a large number of full battery electric vehicle registrations more than offset the falling share of hybrid registrations. Full battery electric vehicles comprised 15% of August registrations, up from 5.7% of registrations in July.
- Rental car registrations were strong in August, with registrations approximately 200-300 cars above pre-pandemic levels, suggesting rental fleets are expanding quickly after 2½ years of difficulties. It will still take time for fleets to recover to pre-pandemic levels, and registrations over the 12 months to August are still at the lowest level since October 2013, excluding the pandemic-affected period since March 2020.
Latest updates
Premium
Car registrations
Strong car registrations despite Iran War
Thu 2 Jul 2026
Quarterly
+19%pa New car registrations in June 2026 quarter+165%pa EV registrations in June 2026 quarter
Fuel prices off highs, still 19% higher than pre-conflictPremium
Car registrations
EV car registrations surge following fuel price spike
Thu 2 Apr 2026
Quarterly
4x higher Full battery EV registrations than in March 2025
Fuel prices rise 30%+ in March 2026Car registrations trending lower before the warCar registrations
Total car registrations slowly lifting from low
Mon 12 Jan 2026
Quarterly
183,099 Total car registrations in the year to December 2025, down 1.1%pa
Quarterly new car registrations up 6.7%paQuarterly used car registrations down 4.1%paCar registrations
New car registrations lift the annual total from a low
Wed 1 Oct 2025
Quarterly
182,258 Total car registrations in the year to September, up 5.7%pa
New car registrations up 20%pa from September 2024Used car registrations down 7.3%pa from September 2024