1:04Tesla UK sales nearly double in September, Model 3 is Britain's top electric car
Tesla registered 15,875 cars in the UK in September, its best month in at least a year and a half. The Model 3 led the EV charts, with the Model Y in second place.
Tesla registered 15,875 new cars in the UK in September, almost twice the 7,993 of September 2025, according to preliminary figures from industry body SMMT published on October 2.
The highlights
- Best month in a long time: Tesla's highest monthly total since at least the start of 2025, ahead of the 12,173 registered in June.
- Model 3 on top: with 9,929 registrations, it was the UK's best-selling electric car in September.
- Model Y second: 5,946 registrations, ahead of BYD's Sealion 7.
- Already past last year: about 46,200 Teslas registered in the first nine months, more than the 45,513 in all of 2025.
A record month for EVs
The overall UK market had its strongest September since 2017, with registrations up 12.1% to 350,518 cars. Battery-electric cars grew 36.3% to 99,199, a 28.3% share of the market and the strongest month ever for EVs in the UK. Tesla's share of the total market was about 4.5%.
BYD still sells more
BYD registered 20,140 cars in the UK in September, more than Tesla. That figure includes plug-in hybrids, while Tesla only sells fully electric cars.
Why September matters in the UK
September is one of two months a year when the UK issues new registration plates, so it is always one of the biggest months for car sales. That makes year-over-year comparisons the fairest way to judge the result, and on that measure Tesla nearly doubled.
