British car sales rose in May to their strongest level for the month since before the Covid pandemic, driven in part by strong growth from the Chinese manufacturers BYD and Chery.

Car registrations rose 7% to 160,662 during the month, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group.

Sales of battery electric cars rose the fastest, accounting for more than 27% of the market.

Chery sold 8,200 cars during May across its Chery, Jaecoo and Omoda brands, while BYD sold 5,200. Over the first five months of the year BYD’s sales doubled, while Chery’s increased fourfold.

Sales of cars from MG, which is owned by China’s state-owned SAIC, grew by 13% to nearly 7,500. Sales of vehicles by China’s Leapmotor and Geely surged to 900 and 1,100 respectively, after barely selling any a year earlier.

China’s manufacturers have poured new cars into the UK, which has not imposed punitive tariffs on imports. At the same time, demand for electric cars – an industry dominated by China – has risen since the introduction of grants last July, and by rising fuel prices caused by the US-Israeli war in Iran.

Higher demand for electric vehicles did not benefit only Chinese carmakers. America’s Tesla, run by Elon Musk, recorded a 45% sales increase during the month, although sales over the year so far are up only 3%. The news comes ahead of an initial public offering for another of Musk’s companies, SpaceX, which is aiming for a valuation of $1.77tn, which would make it the largest in history.

Mike Hawes, SMMT’s chief executive, said: “Britain’s car buyers are responding to a market offering more choice than ever, from both new and familiar brands, resulting in a robust May.”

The SMMT said private buyers, rather than corporate fleets, were responsible for the strongest May increase in sales since 2019. Sue Robinson, chief executive of National Franchised Dealers Association, which represents retailers, said the “encouraging” figures showed that consumers were “increasingly considering lower-emission motoring options due to the continued high price of fuel”.

The strong growth in electric sales makes it likely that carmakers will comply with the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandatory sales targets for electric cars. Electric sales were below the 33% headline proportion of required sales, but New AutoMotive, a thinktank tracking the transition to electric cars, estimates that the true target is about 24.6% because of large flexibilities built into the rules. Sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which combine a polluting engine with a smaller battery, allow carmakers to lower their targets.

Ben Nelmes, New AutoMotive’s chief executive, said there was “real consumer and private buyer momentum behind electric vehicles”. He added: “Manufacturers have invested billions to deliver the cars drivers want, and drivers are buying them.”

However, the SMMT and its manufacturer members are lobbying for the UK government to further weaken the targets. Hawes said there was an “urgent” need for a further review of the targets to give a “credible” path to net zero.