Tesla UK Sales 2026: Month-by-Month Tracker as at 15 Sep

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TITLE: Tesla UK Sales 2026: Month-by-Month Tracker as at 15 Sep 2026

Tesla UK Vehicle Sales in 2026: Month-by-Month Breakdown

Tesla’s UK sales story in 2026 has been one of dramatic swings, a mid-year surge, and a broader market recovery — all set against the backdrop of intensifying competition from Chinese brands, ZEV Mandate pressure, and the continued quirks of Tesla’s quarterly batch-delivery model. Below we track every verified month of new vehicle registrations so far in 2026, compare them against the same months in 2025, and place both years side-by-side in a summary table.

Context: How 2025 Ended

Tesla registered a total of 45,113 cars in the UK in 2025 — a significant 9.58% drop on 2024, giving the brand a market share of 2.25%, below brands such as BYD, MINI, and Land Rover.

In December alone, UK registrations dropped by more than 29% year-on-year, falling to 6,323 units according to New AutoMotive data.

The drop echoed trends seen across other European markets, where Tesla sales suffered due to competition, an ageing lineup, and Elon Musk’s political stance in Europe.

Despite those declining volumes, the Tesla Model Y remained the most popular electric car in the UK throughout 2025, with 24,298 examples registered, while the Model 3 was the second most popular EV at 21,188 registrations.

January 2026: A Weak Start

Tesla registered just 718 vehicles in the UK in January 2026 — a 50.8% decline from 1,458 units in January 2025.

The opening month of the year is traditionally soft for Tesla as it coincides with the lull following a strong quarter-end push, and with shipments from GigaBerlin and GigaShanghai yet to arrive in volume.

February 2026: A Fourfold Jump, Still Below Prior Year

On 5 March, Reuters reported that Tesla’s UK sales dropped 37% in February compared to the prior year, according to SMMT data. The statistics showed that sales dropped to 2,422 vehicles during the month from 3,852 units a year earlier.

A Tesla spokesperson stated that monthly registration figures do not paint an accurate picture of sales or orders taken, with quarterly registrations gauging Tesla sales better due to the way vehicles are delivered into the UK from its factories.

March 2026: The Quarter-End Surge

According to SMMT data, March 2026 marked the first year-over-year increase in six months. March volumes more than doubled sequentially and rose 20% from the same month a year ago.

With January and February registrations of 718 and 2,422 respectively,

Tesla totalled 11,739 vehicles in the first quarter, according to SMMT data

— implying roughly 8,599 registrations in March 2026 alone.

Despite the March rebound, first-quarter sales came in roughly 800 units below the same period last year.

April 2026: Post-Quarter Trough

Tesla sold 831 vehicles in the UK in April, a 62% year-over-year increase — marking the second consecutive month of sales above the previous year after six months of declining figures.

The comparison flattered by a very weak April 2025, when buyers had pulled purchases into March to beat incoming Vehicle Excise Duty changes.

The logistics of shipments from GigaBerlin and GigaShanghai largely shape Tesla’s UK registration patterns, and April, July, and October have consistently been the slowest months, following strong finishes in the final month of each prior quarter.

May 2026: A Milestone Month

Tesla reported a 44% year-on-year increase in UK deliveries in May.

The company noted that orders and reservations from customers continue to “far exceed” their respective months in 2025 and 2024, adding: “We continue into 2026 with an order backlog, indicating a strong demand for Tesla in the UK.”

Tesla also hit a significant milestone:

the 300,000th Tesla customer in the UK was Neil, from Formby, who works in education.

June 2026: Tesla Tops the UK Charts

June’s new car market saw the Tesla Model Y claim the top spot from the long-reigning Ford Puma, with 6,765 sales last month.

Tesla surged 57.7% overall to reach second place in the all-brand rankings with 12,173 sales and a 5.7% share — its best ranking and share since December 2024.

Tesla’s dominance this month is a result of the way the American carmaker delivers its cars to the UK in bulk, meaning its monthly sales can fluctuate wildly.

July 2026: Momentum Continues

July saw an 11.7% rise in new car registrations overall, with 156,571 units registered during the month, marking an eighth consecutive month of growth for the UK market.

Pure-electric cars led the charge, with registrations soaring 44.5%

— a context that benefited Tesla, though July is historically a softer month for the brand following the June quarter-end peak.

August 2026: Model 3 Tops EV Chart

The Tesla Model 3 was the UK’s best-selling electric car in August, with 1,296 new registrations, taking the top spot from the Renault 5.

Battery electric vehicles accounted for 29.8% of new car registrations in August, with registrations up 27.7% year-on-year, according to SMMT figures.

Britain’s new car market recorded 94,236 new cars registered in August — up 13.7% compared with August last year, marking the market’s ninth consecutive month of growth and the strongest August since the introduction of the twice-yearly number plate change.

The Bigger Picture

The latest industry outlook expects 2.18 million new car registrations in 2026 with BEVs claiming 27.4% — still significantly short of the 33% ZEV Mandate target.

For Tesla, the contrast between quarter-end spikes and mid-quarter troughs remains the defining feature of its UK registration profile.

Tesla’s UK registration patterns are largely shaped by the logistical timing of shipments from GigaBerlin and GigaShanghai.

The used market is also booming in parallel:

a total of 4,411 used Teslas were sold during April 2026, surpassing the previous record of 4,346 set in March 2026 and continuing the rapid growth seen in the second-hand Tesla market.

Note on data: Monthly registration figures are sourced from SMMT and New AutoMotive reporting. Where a precise monthly 2026 figure has not been individually published for July and August at the brand level, total Tesla figures have been estimated from available model-level data and percentage movements cited in trade press. September 2026 data will be published by SMMT in early October 2026 and will be added to this tracker at that point.

Monthly Sales Comparison Table: 2025 vs 2026

All figures are new vehicle registrations (DVLA/SMMT basis). Change column shows the difference in units (2026 minus 2025). Green denotes an increase; orange denotes a decrease. Months marked * contain estimated figures based on reported percentage movements.

Month	2025 Sales	2026 Sales	Change
January	1,458	718	−740
February	3,852	2,422	−1,430
March	7,169	8,599	+1,430
April	513	831	+318
May *	2,205	3,175	+970
June	7,719	12,173	+4,454
July *	2,095	2,430	+335
August *	1,142	1,980	+838
September	7,993	—	—
October	511	—	—
November	3,772	—	—
December	6,323	—	—
YTD Total (Jan–Aug)	24,199	32,328	+8,129

* Estimated from reported year-on-year percentage movements. March 2026 derived from confirmed Q1 SMMT total of 11,739 minus confirmed January (718) and February (2,422). 2025 March derived as Q1 2025 total minus January and February actuals. July and August 2026 brand-level totals are estimates based on model-level data and overall EV market percentage movements published by SMMT. All figures will be updated as official SMMT brand data is confirmed. September 2026 data due early October 2026.