Yahoo Finance Revealed: UK's best selling cars
UK car sales have continued to recover from their slump in the pandemic, with Ford reclaiming the best-seller title.
New car registrations rose by 16.7% in May, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has reported, to 145,204.
That is the 10th consecutive month of growth, as the market is boosted by improved supplies of new cars.
But, registrations remain 21% below May 2019 when 183,724 new cars were registered.
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The Ford Puma EV was May’s best-seller with 4,184 registrations, and the compact SUV crossover has now taken over the number one position year-to-date with 17,312 sales.
The Nissan Qashqai was the second best-selling car with 3,140 cars hitting the roads and the Vauxhall Mokka was third with 3,066.
Another Vauxhall, this time the Corsa, is number 4 on this list, with 3,208 units sold, followed by the Audi A3, with 3,108 registrations.
The Hyundai Tucson (2,712), Volvo XC40 (2,699), Nissan Juke (2,534), Tesla Model Y (2,509) and Toyota Yaris complete the top ten best sellers in May.
New car registrations rise 16.7% to deliver 10th consecutive month of growth as supply continues to improve.https://t.co/1wKvlxAPeK pic.twitter.com/sb8dsG1dS6
— SMMT (@SMMT) June 5, 2023
The SMMT said the new car market is ‘maintaining momentum’, but again called for wider support to help motorists make the switch to electric.
Chief executive Mike Hawes said: “After the difficult, COVID-constrained supply issues of the last few years, it’s good to see the new car market maintain its upward trend and the fact that growth is, increasingly, green growth is hugely encouraging.
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“Transforming the market nationwide, however, and at an even greater pace means we must increase demand and help any reticent driver overcome any concerns about electric vehicles.
“This will require every stakeholder – industry, government, chargepoint operators and energy companies – to play their part, accelerating investment to drive decarbonisation.”
Large fleet registrations continued to drive the growth, up by 36.9% to 76,207 units, which the SMMT attributes to greater availability following challenging supply issues in 2022.
Registrations to private buyers fell slightly by -0.5% to 65,932 cars, while smaller business fleets registered 3,065 units, a year-on-year rise of 22.5%.
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