In total, 2,020,373 new cars were registered in 2025. This is the first time sales reached such levels since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2019, and represents a 3.5 per cent increase on the year before. Some 1.19 million cars – or roughly six out of every 10 – went to fleets, while 779,524 were private sales, which was a 4.5 per cent increase.
Despite sales of petrol cars dropping by eight per cent last year, it remained the preferred choice among Brits, accounting for more than 46 per cent of the total market share. Electric cars were second (23.4 per cent), followed by full hybrids (13.9 per cent), plug-in hybrids (11.1per cent) and finally diesels (5.1 per cent).
Unsurprisingly, the biggest decline was in sales of diesels, which dropped by nearly 16 per cent, whereas sales of plug-in hybrids shot up by 34.7 per cent compared with 2024.
Meanwhile, 473,340 new electric cars were registered in 2025. That’s more than in the whole of 2021 and 2022 combined, and means they accounted for almost one-in-four cars sold in the UK last year, potentially making it the second biggest market for EVs in Europe. That said, sales failed to reach the 28 per cent target set by the Government as part of its ZEV Mandate.
Britain’s top-selling cars 2025
(based on preliminary SMMT data)
- Ford Puma – 55,487
- Kia Sportage – 47,788
- Nissan Qashqai – 41,140
- Vauxhall Corsa – 35,947
- Nissan Juke – 34,773
- Volkswagen Golf – 32,477
- Volvo XC40 – 30,404
- MG HS – 30,191
- Volkswagen Tiguan – 29,856
- Hyundai Tucson – 28,613
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