UK car sales rise in June as EV share hits 30%, industry data shows

July 3 (Reuters) - British new car registrations rose 15% in June from a year earlier, with battery electric vehicles accounting for nearly 30% of the market, as higher fuel prices boosted demand for EVs, New AutoMotive data showed on Friday.

BEVs made up nearly one in three new car registrations in June, their strongest monthly performance outside seasonal peaks, helped by government grants and a wider range of lower-cost models, the industry body said.

EVs have been gaining ground in Europe as rising fuel costs, largely driven by global oil shocks from the Iran war, steer customers toward alternatives.

"EVs have gone mainstream because the case is clear: many new models are now at price parity with petrol cars, while second-hand EVs are often even cheaper," Gurjeet Grewal, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles, said.

Carmakers are racing to meet Britain's zero-emission vehicle mandate, which sets annual targets for the share of new vehicles sold that must be electric, while tougher European Union trade rules due from 2027 add to the pressure.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has warned British electric vehicle makers could face £1.4 billion in tariffs from January if post-Brexit local content rules are not resolved with the European Union.

The European Union remains Britain's largest export market for vehicles.

For the year-to-date, BEVs accounted for 24.9% of all new car registrations in the United Kingdom, according to New AutoMotive data, but are still below the government's 33% target.

In Britain, new car registrations totalled 215,921 units in June, while battery electric vehicle registrations rose 38% to 64,440 units.

Tesla registered 12,403 battery electric cars in June, up 42% from a year earlier, signalling the carmaker's recovery in the European market, while BYD registered 2,999, up 9%.

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia and Nithyashree R B in Bengaluru; editing by Philippa Fletcher)