The UK car market · SMMT data
New vs used: what Britain is actually buying.
UK buyers registered 160,662 new cars in May 2026 (+7.1% year-on-year) and bought 2,016,232 used cars in Q1 2026 (-0.2%). The new market is led by crossovers; the used market still runs on superminis — topped by the discontinued Ford Fiesta. And while 27.3% of new cars are now electric, only 4.3% of used sales are.
New cars · May 2026
160,662
+7.1% vs 150,070 a year earlier
Top 10 — May 2026
| # | Model | Units |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford Puma | 4,019 |
| 2 | Kia Sportage | 3,439 |
| 3 | Vauxhall Corsa | 3,075 |
| 4 | Jaecoo 7 | 3,027 |
| 5 | Nissan Qashqai | 2,859 |
| 6 | Volkswagen Golf | 2,637 |
| 7 | MINI Cooper | 2,605 |
| 8 | Volkswagen Tiguan | 2,395 |
| 9 | Vauxhall Frontera | 2,372 |
| 10 | Hyundai Tucson | 2,194 |
Top 10 — 2026 so far
| # | Model | Units |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford Puma | 24,358 |
| 2 | Kia Sportage | 21,274 |
| 3 | Jaecoo 7 | 20,695 |
| 4 | Nissan Qashqai | 18,558 |
| 5 | Vauxhall Corsa | 15,863 |
| 6 | Volkswagen Golf | 14,658 |
| 7 | Volvo XC40 | 13,478 |
| 8 | MG HS | 13,475 |
| 9 | MINI Cooper | 13,291 |
| 10 | Volkswagen Tiguan | 12,647 |
Fuel mix
| Fuel | Units | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 66,223 | 41.2% | -7.1% |
| Diesel | 7,622 | 4.7% | -2.2% |
| BEV | 43,931 | 27.3% | +34.2% |
| PHEV | 22,167 | 13.8% | +23.9% |
| HEV | 20,719 | 12.9% | +1.8% |
Who's buying
| Buyer | Units | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private | 65,781 | 40.9% | +17.2% |
| Fleet | 91,765 | 57.1% | +1.8% |
| Business | 3,116 | 1.9% | -18.8% |
Used cars · Q1 2026
2,016,232
-0.2% vs 2,020,990 a year earlier
Top 10 used models
| # | Model | Units |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford Fiesta | 76,745 |
| 2 | Vauxhall Corsa | 62,201 |
| 3 | Volkswagen Golf | 56,236 |
| 4 | Ford Focus | 54,662 |
| 5 | Nissan Qashqai | 42,214 |
| 6 | Volkswagen Polo | 39,159 |
| 7 | BMW 3 Series | 37,621 |
| 8 | MINI | 37,438 |
| 9 | Vauxhall Astra | 35,340 |
| 10 | BMW 1 Series | 32,363 |
Fuel mix
| Fuel | Units | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 1,147,969 | 56.9% |
| Diesel | 629,987 | 31.2% |
| Hybrid | 128,039 | 6.4% |
| Electric | 86,943 | 4.3% |
| Plug-in Hybrid | 20,021 | 1% |
By region
| Region | Units |
|---|---|
| South East | 292,545 |
| North West | 222,997 |
| West Midlands | 207,765 |
| East | 194,898 |
| South West | 185,473 |
| Yorkshire & Humberside | 182,360 |
| East Midlands | 161,809 |
| Scotland | 159,865 |
| London | 147,334 |
| Wales | 107,408 |
By colour
| Colour | Units |
|---|---|
| Black | 429,392 |
| Grey | 376,124 |
| White | 331,409 |
| Blue | 318,100 |
| Silver/Aluminium | 259,424 |
| Red | 197,170 |
| Green | 36,862 |
| Orange | 15,565 |
| Yellow | 10,820 |
| Brown | 9,741 |
Common questions
What is the best-selling new car in the UK?
The Ford Puma, with 4,019 registrations in May 2026 and 24,358 so far in 2026.
What is the best-selling used car in the UK?
The Ford Fiesta, with 76,745 sales in Q1 2026 — despite having been discontinued.
How many new cars were registered in the UK in May 2026?
160,662 new cars were registered, +7.1% year-on-year.
How many used cars were sold in the UK in Q1 2026?
2,016,232 used cars changed hands, -0.2% year-on-year.
What share of UK car sales are electric?
27.3% of new cars in May 2026 were battery electric, versus 4.3% of used sales in Q1 2026.
About this data
New-car figures are official UK registrations for May 2026; used-car figures are transactions reported for Q1 2026. New and used periods differ because the two datasets are published on different cycles — registrations monthly, used-car volumes quarterly.
Source: SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders). Model links go to Forecourt's own depreciation, running-cost and reliability profiles. Figures are reproduced for reference; where a model isn't yet in our catalogue it appears without a link.
Data updated 2026-06-29 · Source: SMMT