Best-selling cars 2025: the year's 10 most popular models
These are officially Britain’s biggest-selling new cars so far this year
We’re only a few weeks into 2025, but plenty of brands are already setting their sights on the coveted title of Britain’s best-selling car. However, it would appear that they may have a challenge ahead of them, because the nation’s new-car market saw a 2.5 per cent decline in January, with 139,345 factory-fresh models registered.
Electric car manufacturers may be feeling cautiously optimistic, though, because battery-electric vehicle (BEV) registrations rose by 41.6 per cent year-on-year, accounting for a total 21.3 per cent market share. However, this does fall short of this year’s 28 per cent target which has been set by the government.
The rise of EVs has seen petrol’s market share drop by 15.3 per cent, although it remains the UK’s most popular fuel, accounting for 50.3 per cent of the total market. Hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles also experienced record growth.
When it comes down to the best-selling cars themselves, Britain’s love affair with SUVs is still going strong, with the Kia Sportage, Nissan Qashqai and Peugeot 3008 accounting for some of the nation’s favourites in January. It’s not all doom and gloom for small cars, though, because plenty of Vauxhall Corsas and Volkswagen Golfs were also snapped up.
1. Kia Sportage - 3,476
The Kia Sportage was a frequent sight in the 2024 best-seller rankings, but it couldn’t quite manage to reach the top of the chart. Things are looking much more promising for this mid-size SUV in 2025, however, where this distinctive family car is leading the way. The latest Sportage offers space, tech and comfort in droves, so it’s pretty easy to see why it continues to prove very popular with buyers. That seven-year/100,000-mile warranty is as attractive as ever, too.
2. Nissan Qashqai - 3,421
It’s been 18 years since the original Nissan Qashqai first arrived on our streets, and over this time the car has grown into a household name for plenty of drivers. The latest model is a much bolder offering than its predecessors when it comes to styling, but there’s still an overall sense of familiarity where it matters. While it isn’t quite the top dog in the fiercely competitive mid-size SUV market, the Qashqai clearly still offers enough to appeal to plenty of prospective buyers.
3. Vauxhall Corsa - 3,379
Plenty of UK drivers have experienced at least one generation of Vauxhall Corsa in their lifetime, whether as a passenger, driver or even a learner. Following the demise of the Ford Fiesta, the Corsa is by far one of the most recognisable names in the supermini market. The latest generation offers plenty of choice when it comes to trim, kit and powertrains (you can even have a fully electric model), and prices start from around £18,000. Time will tell whether this small car can beat back the SUVs to become 2025’s best-seller, but it’s off to an undeniably promising start.
4. Volkswagen Golf - 2,614
Whether you want a family car, hot hatchback or even an estate car, there’s a Volkswagen Golf to suit your needs. While the eighth-generation Golf initially got off to a troublesome start (largely thanks to some irritating tech), the revised Mk8.5 has set out to right some of these wrongs. It would appear that VW’s efforts have paid off, too, because the Golf remains a firm British favourite.
5. Peugeot 3008 - 2,567
Peugeot’s styling department has been on a bit of a roll lately, and the Peugeot 3008 will stand out by a mile in a crowded car park. It’s just as unique on the inside, too, with a stunning cabin that’s dominated by a whopping 21-inch screen and features some very pleasant materials. Unfortunately, the 3008’s on-board tech is a bit of a let-down, but it seems that a number of style-conscious customers were piling into Peugeot's showrooms in January.
6. Peugeot 2008 - 2,478
Following closely behind its bigger brother, the Peugeot 2008 has also enjoyed some strong sales in 2025 so far. While it’s not quite as bold as the Peugeot 3008, the smaller 2008 is still a fashionable car that feels well put together. This Peugeot is a bit pricey compared with some of the competition, and the i-Cockpit can be a bit divisive, but it would appear that this car currently has the edge over its Jeep Avenger and Vauxhall Mokka siblings.
7. Ford Puma - 2,332
The Ford Puma was the best-selling car in both 2023 and 2024, and during this time this small SUV has had a facelift and we’ve even seen the fully-electric Ford Puma Gen-E make its debut. However, there’s clearly still work to be done if Ford wishes to turn this winning streak into a hat-trick. The Puma is one of the best cars to drive in its class, and it offers pretty good value for money. However, fresh competitors are continuing to arrive at an incredibly steady pace.
8. Nissan Juke - 2,320
It’s been with us since 2019 but the second-generation Nissan Juke continues to be a steady seller for the Japanese brand. A facelift in 2024 has helped this ageing SUV to keep up with its rivals, and its funky looks are still as bold as ever. It would seem that this is enough to keep the Juke in the best-seller charts in 2025 (at least for now).
9. MG HS - 2,148
MG has been reborn as a budget-friendly brand, and the MG HS has found itself at the top of the monthly best-seller charts in recent times. This mid-size SUV goes up against plenty of rivals from a variety of brands, but very few can come close when it comes to price. The HS starts from around £25,000, but it still feels well equipped and sturdily built. The brand’s reputation in our Driver Power survey is far from rosy (it finished bottom of the 32 brands in our 2024 survey), but its standard 80,000-mile/seven-year warranty is one of the longest in the business.
10. MG ZS - 2,107
With the latest MG ZS, you can pretty much take all of the qualities of the HS mentioned above and wrap them up in a slightly smaller package. Only the Dacia Duster manages to come close to this small SUV’s £22,000 starting price, yet the ZS does a respectable job of hiding its cost-cutting for the most part. The standard-fit hybrid powertrain can officially return more than 55mpg, too.
Sales vs registrations: inside the numbers
There’s an important distinction to be made where the UK’s monthly and annual car sales numbers are concerned. Namely, that they don’t actually count the number of cars sold in the sense that many people might imagine. The numbers provided by the SMMT are for car ‘registrations’ rather than being sales figures.
When customers buy a new car it is registered before it can be driven on the road, but cars are also registered by manufacturers and dealers before they have a customer to go to. This practice of processing pre-registered cars is done for various reasons, but often the goal is to move stock through the supply chain, avoiding bottlenecks or to hit targets. It means that a significant proportion of the cars in the ‘sales’ figures could be pre-registered, and estimates of how many range from between 10 and 20 per cent.
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