Last year in 2024, the Ford Puma was the UK's best-selling car, closely followed by the Kia Sportage and Nissan Qashqai. And guess what? So far, 2025 is shaping up to be exactly the same. Ford's dinky SUV is leading the way once again, closely followed by its chunkier challengers from Japan and Korea.
In this guide, we give you a detailed breakdown of the top 10 best-selling models on the new car market so far in 2025.
The 10 Bestselling New Cars in 2025
- 1. Ford Puma
- 2. Kia Sportage
- 3. Nissan Qashqai
- 4. Vauxhall Corsa
- 5. Volkswagen Golf
- 6. Nissan Juke
- 7. MG HS
- 8. Volkswagen Tiguan
- 9. MG ZS
- 10. MG ZS
- The new car market so far in 2025
1. Ford Puma
Registrations in 2025: 14,930
The Puma is Ford's de rigueur small SUV, and since the untimely demise of the company's previous best-seller, the Fiesta supermini, it's ably taken on the mantle as the company's most popular model. Buyers clearly value its blend of involving driving dynamics, a high driving position, good fuel economy from its mild-hybrid engines, and a clever boot with an extra waterproof compartment - the Megabox - beneath the floor.
Ford Puma Review
2. Kia Sportage
Registrations in 2025: 12,866
The Sportage finished fourth on the list of best-sellers in 2023, and climbed up to second place in 2024, and place it's currently maintaining so far in 2025. And it's no wonder. It comes with extrovert styling and the option of plug-in or full hybrid variants, on top of more conventional petrol engines. Inside, the Sportage is smart, too, with glossy materials, clever design touches and a slick infotainment system. As you’d expect, there’s plenty of space and practicality on offer, too.
Kia Sportage Mk5 Review
3. Nissan Qashqai
Registrations in 2025: 11,792
The Qashqai topped the best-sellers list outright in 2022, and with second-place and third-place finishes in 2023 and 2024, respectively, it has maintained an impressively strong performance over a number of years. And that’s continuing so far in 2025, because it’s currently tracking third in the list of best-sellers. And that success is no surprise; the Qashqai is just the right size to make it perfect for most British families, and its range of engines and trims ensures broad appeal.
Nissan Qashqai Review
4. Vauxhall Corsa
Registrations in 2025: 11,476
The Vauxhall Corsa’s sales performance has been rather up-and-down in recent years, but it usually features somewhere on this list, and at the moment, it’s very much up, currently placing in fourth. This perennial favourite is one of the most recognisable names in motoring, and the latest incarnation of the Corsa combines good looks, impressive quality and strong value for money.
Vauxhall Corsa Review
5. Volkswagen Golf
Registrations in 2025: 10,749
The Volkswagen Golf has been plying its trade for many decades now, and for a good proportion of that time, it's featured somewhere in the list of the UK's top 10 best-sellers. The latest Mk8 version arrived in 2020, and was revised in 2024 to keep it competitive with newer rivals. It provides the same enjoyable-but-sensible driving experience that the Golf always has, along with competitive practicality, exemplary quality and a fair amount of technology.
Volkswagen Golf Review
6. Nissan Juke
Registrations in 2025: 10,414
The original Nissan Juke was one of the very first supermini-based crossovers, and as such, it set the tone for what has become a hugely popular segment of the market. The latest model moves the game on in every area. Of particular note is that it maintains the Juke's distinctive styling while adding more powertrain options, including a self-charging hybrid.
Nissan Juke Review
7. MG HS
Registrations in 2025: 9,738
MG has been resurgent in recent years, thanks largely to the dedicated following it's managed to develop for its portfolio of impressive electric cars. That being the case, it might be something of a surprise to see the HS on this list rather than one of the EVs, but it really shouldn't be. There's a plug-in hybrid version on offer for those who aren't quite ready to take the plunge on a full EV, and with aggressive prices and a heaving list of standard luxury and safety equipment, the HS is sensational value for money.
MG HS Review
8. Volkswagen Tiguan
Registrations in 2025: 9,140
The Tiguan happens to be Volkswagen's biggest-selling car worldwide, but although the Golf still edges it in the affections of British car buyers, there's still more than enough love for the car on these shores to earn it a place on the top ten best-sellers list. The latest version was released in 2024, bringing the same mix of understated style, high quality and family-friendly practicality that had made previous incanations of the Tiguan so popular. This time, though, more tech and luxury equipment was added, bring the car bang up to date. And that's obviously being appreciated by buyers.
Volkswagen Tiguan Review
9. MG ZS
Registrations in 2025: 9,041
The last-generation ZS was arguably the car that made UK buyers start taking the reborn MG brand seriously, and the latest version of the car makes it even clearer that the Chinese-owned marque is not messing about. This is a really convincing compact SUV, with a roomy interior, lots of equipment, impressive quality and an economical self-charging hybrid system, and it all comes at a very tempting price. Expect to see more of MG on this list in the future.
MG ZS Review
10. Hyundai Tucson
Registrations in 2025: 8,715
The Hyundai Tucson shares much of its mechanical makeup with the Kia Sportage that sits a bit higher up the page, so it's no surprise to find Hyundai's take on the midsize family SUV featuring on this list also. It looks every bit as dramatic and as glamorous as its sister car, and it also has the Kia matched for quality, practicality, equipment and value. It's lower ranking could well be down to something as minor as its slightly different warranty package, but it's still excellent at five years with no mileage limit, and there's plenty to like besides.
Hyundai Tucson Review
The new car market so far in 2025
According to monthly year-to-date figures from the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders), a total of 580,502 new cars have been registered so far in 2025, which is up 6.4% on 2024’s equivalent figure of 545,548.
Sales of diesel cars continue to dwindle, those numbers being -10.2% down on 2024, but most other types of car are on the rise. Petrol remained the dominant fuel type with 49.4% of the market, followed by battery electric cars with 20.7% of the market. Self-charging hybrids come next with 14.8%. Plug-in hybrids follow with 9.2% of the market, with diesel bringing up the rear with 5.8%.
Fleet cars made up the majority of new registrations in the UK with 58.8% of the market so far in 2025, and only 39.1% of the UK’s new cars were bought privately.
In terms of how the various manufacturers are doing so far in 2025, here are the top 10 car-makers in terms of overall sales for the year.
- Volkswagen - 53,156
- BMW - 35,559
- Kia - 35,063
- Ford - 34,703
- Peugeot - 28,536
- Nissan - 27,855
- Audi - 27,806
- Mercedes-Benz - 27,415
- Vauxhall - 27,371
- Toyota - 26,144
