New car sales hit two million in 2025 with nearly a quarter of buyers going electric

Ford Puma, Kia Sportage and Nissan Qashqai are UK’s best sellers; Tesla tops EV sales

The Ford Puma was Britain’s best-selling car in 2025 (Ford)

Over two million new cars were sold in the UK in 2025, beating the two million milestone for the first time since 2019.

A total of 2,020,373 new cars were registered, a jump of 3.5 per cent on 2024, with growth led by electric cars (up 23.9 per cent), plug-in hybrids (up 34.7 per cent) and hybrid models (up 7.2 per cent).

Fully electric cars accounted for 23.4 per cent of the total number, with 473,340 new EVs finding homes in 2025. However, that’s still some way short of the government’s Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate target of 28 per cent for last year. The 2026 target rises to 33 per cent.

EVs accounted for 23.4 per cent of sales in 2025 with the Tesla Model Y the best selling electric car (Steve Fowler)

Sales of diesel cars fell behind those of electrified cars, down 15.6 per cent year-on-year. Petrol models (not including full hybrids) still account for the majority of sales at 46.4 per cent, but were down eight per cent on 2024.

The top selling cars last year were the Ford Puma in first place, with 55,487 sales, followed by the Kia Sportage (47,788) and the British-built Nissan Qashqai (41,140).

Although global Tesla sales were down nine per cent in 2025, with BYD overtaking it as the world’s best-selling electric car brand, the Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3 were the two best-selling EVs in the UK last year. No BYD models appeared among the UK’s ten best-selling cars, but 51,422 sales for 2025 made the Chinese firm – which arrived here just three years ago – the sixth biggest car brand in the UK.

SMMT CEO Mike Hawes is calling on government to bring forward its review of electric car sales targets as part of the ZEV Mandate (PA Archive)

Auto Industry trade body SMMT, which compiles the registration data, has called for action from the government to ensure the British market remains attractive for investment, supporting consumers, the industry and the economy.

SMMT says that the upcoming review of the ZEV Mandate represents an important opportunity to align the UK’s transition with international competitiveness, economic prosperity, and collective decarbonisation objectives.

Commenting on the 2025 sales figures, Mike Hawes, Chief Executive of SMMT, said: “The new car market finally reaching two million registrations for the first time this decade is a reasonably solid result amid tough economic and geopolitical headwinds.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

“Rising EV uptake is an undoubted positive, but the pace is still too slow and the cost to industry too high. Government has stepped in with the Electric Car Grant, but a new EV tax, additional charges for EV drivers in London and costly public charging send mixed signals.

“Given developments abroad, government should bring forward its review and act urgently to deliver a vibrant market, a sustainable industry and an investment proposition that keeps the UK at the forefront of global competition.”