UK Passenger Car Sales : 2025 (Jan- Aug)

Registrations were down 2% in August but up 2% YTD. That's still at a level below the best years, but if nothing else it's very stable. 

VW is now well established at the top, a position it took in 2021 from Ford. BMW retains its second placing, just ahead of Kia. Ford has made a comeback, moving up a place compared to 2024. 

Peugeot climbed five places to 8th but Nissan and Vauxhall are down one place. MG has fallen from 10th to 13th, perhaps losing some sales to several up and coming Chinese brands. One thing is for certain, all these new brands are making for long lists.

I was recently reading a comment from a person in the UK saying he would make a point of not buying a locally made car unless it was made by a British owned company, which rules out about everything. I assume that includes the likes of the Nissan Juke and Qashqai, both designed and built in the UK. 

So instead, he would therefore buy cars from overseas owned companies designing and building vehicles elsewhere. Amazingly, he's not the only one to express this sentiment. So a company like Nissan is punished for designing and building cars in the UK. 

It sounds to me that some people who buy whatever they like are trying to justify their self centredness. People should buy what they want but if they can support local industry, they should do that if possible. They shouldn't make up an irrational argument for not doing so, even going out of their way to avoid buying local. Thankfully not everyone thinks that way.  

Best selling models:

Ford Puma - 33,221

Kia Sportage - 29,279

Nissan Qashqai - 25,571 (photo above)

Vauxhall Corsa - 23,486

Nissan Juke - 22,457 (photo below)

VW Golf - 20,016

VW Tiguan - 19,276

MG HS - 18,931

Peugeot 2008 - 18,662

Hyundai Tucson - 18,382

For the 2024 article, simply click on the link below:

By brand.

Data source: SMMT (mainly). Picture Source: Nissan.