Britain’s favourite (and best-selling) new cars ranked – Autocar
As 2025 draws to a close, one car continues to dominate Britain’s roads.
The Ford Puma remains the UK’s best-selling car, comfortably maintaining its lead in the sales charts. Should it hold this position through to year’s end, it will secure its crown for a second consecutive year – a remarkable achievement in such a competitive market.
After all, the industry remains volatile as manufacturers and consumers alike navigate ongoing economic issues, the Electric Car Grant and the new Chinese models arriving here. None of those grace this list, but for October, the Jaecoo 7 actually outsold the Nissan Qashqai.
In September 144,948 new cars were registered – a 0.5% year-on-year increase. EVs saw a slight uptick in sales, while petrol declined – although the latter is still the most popular fuel type among new car buyers. So which models are driving Britain’s car market in 2025? And can any of them rival Ford’s formidable crossover? Here’s the definitive rundown of the UK’s top 10 best-selling cars of the year so far, according to the latest SMMT data.
The best-selling car of 2024 has proved so popular again this year that it has been glued to the top sales spot since February.
The Puma appeals because it’s engaging to drive and attractively priced, plus it offers the option of a hot Puma ST variant.
The arrival of the electric Ford Puma Gen-E should give it an additional boost, although sales for that car are counted separately.
Read our Ford Puma review
The Kia Sportage finished fourth in the 2024 sales charts, and we suspect the people of Seoul will be thrilled to see the SUV consistently cling to second place through most of the year.
Variety plays a big part in the Kia’s appeal: it’s available with mild-hybrid, full-hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
Read our Kia Sportage review
The Nissan Qashqai was the UK’s best-seller in 2022, but it has since been outpaced by rivals. It finished second overall in 2023 and third in 2024.
View all car reviews
The driver's crossover returns with a new design and a much-needed tech lift – is it now the best in class?
That said, it’s still extremely popular and continues to appeal to UK buyers with its excellent practicality and British build quality.
Read our Nissan Qashqai review
The sales figures for the evergreen Vauxhall Corsa have been a bit up and down of late. It was the best selling car of 2021 but failed to place in the top 10 for 2024. So Vauxhall will be happy to have it performing well again.
A 2024 facelift and keen finance offers have given the supermini a real shot in the arm, and it’s deserving of what could end up being a podium finish.
Today, the Corsa offers great value for money, with strong, economical powertrains and a pretty impressive roster of digital tech.
Read our Vauxhall Corsa review
The Nissan Juke remains a popular car among UK buyers, having finished 2024 in fourth place.
The small SUV went on sale with a brand-new design in 2020, then a facelifted version arrived in the middle of 2023, bringing with it hybrid power for the first time.
Read our Nissan Juke review
The Golf isn’t quite as popular as it once was, but it’s still a top pick for drivers on the hunt for a good all-round family hatchback or estate.
The German stalwart has been kept fresh with a wide-reaching technology update, a design revamp, a more powerful GTI hot hatch and a longer-range plug-in hybrid.
Read our Volkswagen Golf review 
The Hyundai Tucson is one of the UK’s most popular SUVs, and it regularly appears in the sales chart top 10.
Its plush interior and range of hybrid powertrains are attractive propositions for many Brits.
Read our Hyundai Tucson review
Volkswagen’s popular family SUV has long been one of the brand’s best-sellers, and it’s the German manufacturer’s second model on this list after the Golf.
The Tiguan is a practical and versatile option, with a wide range of powertrains that includes petrols, diesels and plug-in hybrids.
Standard equipment is good, too, with a reversing camera, parking sensors, wireless smartphone mirroring and dual digital screens all standard equipment.
Read our Volkswagen Tiguan review
The MG HS offers nothing short of class-leading value for money.
Available with a petrol engine or a more frugal plug-in hybrid, the family crossover also comes with good levels of equipment as standard, including a 10.1in touchscreen, a 360deg parking camera and smartphone mirroring.
Read out MG HS review
Volvo’s evergreen compact SUV makes a return to the charts for October.
It’s a distinctive car and is refreshingly old-school -right down to its physical heating controls. It is different from the likes of Volvo’s newer cars – such as the Volvo EX90 – and better for it.
Read our Volvo XC40 review
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Murray has been a journalist for more than a decade. During that time he’s written for magazines, newspapers and websites, but he now finds himself as Autocar’s digital editor.
He leads the output of the website and contributes to all other digital aspects, including the social media channels, podcasts and videos. During his time he has reviewed cars ranging from £50 – £500,000, including Austin Allegros and Ferrari 812 Superfasts. He has also interviewed F1 megastars, knows his PCPs from his HPs and has written, researched and experimented with behavioural surplus and driverless technology.
Murray graduated from the University of Derby with a BA in Journalism in 2014 and has previously written for Classic Car Weekly, Modern Classics Magazine, buyacar.co.uk, parkers.co.uk and CAR Magazine, as well as carmagazine.co.uk.
That’s a first, Autocar not including battery powered versions for the model, diesel and petrol powered versions are treated equally so why not Battery power.
Anything to do with Tesla?, remember they were excluded in the past because they don’t pay towards SMMT.
Current popular cars are Kia Hyundai and BMW(1series) and that was a quick 15mins survey went out for a walk today and the Ford Puma isn’t that popular here, for instance in the period of time mentioned I counted 11 BMW,8 Kia and 3 Hyundai.
So the Hyundai Tucson is “arguably the most premium option on the list”.
Volkswagen might have something to say about that ….
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