The Kia Sportage has started 2025 in strong sales form, and leads this year’s best-selling new car race after topping the charts in January.
According to data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the overall new car market shrank by 2% year-on-year in January, while the new electric car market grew by a huge 42% compared to the same month last year.
After finishing a close second in the 2024 race to crown the UK’s best-selling new car, the Sportage was the most popular car with British buyers in January, its Korean manufacturer racking up near 3,500 sales of the family-friendly SUV last month.
Meanwhile, the Ford Puma – which was the best-selling new car in both 2023 and 2024 – starts the new year in seventh place. Will the compact crossover be popular enough to finish top of the table for a third year running? Only time will tell, but this isn’t a great start for Ford, with the Puma over 1,000 sales behind pole position.
The Nissan Qashqai and Vauxhall Corsa – which are both former best-sellers and consistently appear in the monthly registrations top ten – trail the Sportage in second and third respectively and are not far behind, while the Volkswagen Golf has proved to be the German brand’s highest-selling UK export and sits in fourth.
Peugeot recorded commendable registrations last month that the brand can be proud of. The marque’s 2008 and new 3008 SUVs now sit in the middle of the top ten with around 2,500 January registrations each. MG can be awarded similar plaudits, with its budget-end ZS and HS SUVs selling in high enough quantities to snatch the final two top ten places.
Notable absences after January include the Hyundai Tucson – one of the Sportage’s key rivals – as well as the Volkswagen Polo, Mini Cooper and Audi A3 which all posted high sales totals at various points throughout 2024.
Top ten best-sellers chart, January 2025
| Rank | Brand | Registrations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kia Sportage | 3,476 |
| 2 | Nissan Qashqai | 3,421 |
| 3 | Vauxhall Corsa | 3,379 |
| 4 | Volkswagen Golf | 2,614 |
| 5 | Peugeot 3008 | 2,567 |
| 6 | Peugeot 2008 | 2,478 |
| 7 | Ford Puma | 2,332 |
| 8 | Nissan Juke | 2,320 |
| 9 | MG HS | 2,148 |
| 10 | MG ZS | 2,107 |
Britain’s best-selling cars of 2024
1. Kia Sportage
The Kia Sportage was so close to taking the UK’s best-selling car title last year, before the SUV fell at the final sales hurdle in December. It tops the charts after January, but Kia will be hoping the sales inconsistency that hindered the Sportage last year won’t be repeated – competitors are close on its tail.
The new Kia Sportage currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of A, with a score of 73% on our award-winning Expert Rating Index.
2. Nissan Qashqai
The Nissan Qashqai remains one of the nation’s most popular cars – a claim validated by the SUV’s second place sales finish in January. Formerly the UK’s best-selling car in 2022, the mid-sized family car was outshone by the similarly-sized Kia Sportage last year. It’s a new year and a new race however, and it has a good chance of reclaiming top spot if it continues this sales form.
The Qashqai is the current jewel in the crown of the British car manufacturing industry – designed in London, developed in the Midlands and built in Sunderland. It’s also the UK’s best-selling British-built car. On sale since Autumn 2021, the Qashqai holds a New Car Expert Rating of A, with a score of 74%.
3. Vauxhall Corsa
Compact and affordable – the Vauxhall Corsa supermini is a British favourite that comfortably topped the UK sales charts in 2021. 2024 was a different story altogether, as several months of inconsistent sales led to the hatchback dropping out of the annual top ten.
The Vauxhall Corsa currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of C, with a score of 65%, while its all-electric counterpart holds a New Car Expert Rating of A, with a score of 71%.
4. Volkswagen Golf
Volkswagen is the UK’s most popular car manufacturer by total sales numbers, but it took until last year for one of its models to firmly cement itself in the top ten places. That model is the mid-sized Golf, which sits in fourth after January. The family car has never recorded table-topping registration totals, but sold in very consistent numbers throughout 2024, earning its place in the mid-table.
The Volkswagen Golf currently holds an excellent New Car Expert Rating of A, with a score of 77%.
5. Peugeot 3008
The launch of the new next-generation Peugeot 3008 range seems to have renewed buyer interest in the SUV, which is available with either a hybrid or electric powertrain. Sitting in fifth in the 2025 leaderboard, the 3008 will have to continue this sales form to keep its place in what is usually a very competitive mid-table.
The Peugeot 3008 currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of C, with a score of 63%. It’s battery-powered twin – the e-3008 – ranks a little higher in our Expert Rating index, with a New Car Expert Rating of B with a score of 66%.
6. Peugeot 2008
The 3008’s smaller sibling, the older Peugeot 2008 also recorded commendable sales numbers in January. This value-for-money compact SUV has made several appearances in the monthly top ten in recent years, but didn’t sell in high enough quantities to enter the annual top ten in 2024.
The Peugeot 2008 currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of B, with a score of 69%, while the electric e-2008 holds a New Car Expert Rating of A, with a score of 71%.
7. Ford Puma
The recently-facelifted Ford Puma outsold cars of all shapes and sizes and was crowned Britain’s best-selling new car in 2024. Currently Ford’s most popular offering by a country mile, the Puma has become the model to beat, and beat in January it was. A seventh place finish isn’t discouraging, but it does fall below the Puma’s table-topping sales standards.
The Puma has received plenty of praise from the UK motoring media, and currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of A, with a score of 72% on our unique Expert Rating Index.
8. Nissan Juke
On sale since 2019, the UK-built Nissan Juke has established itself as a popular choice of British motorists in the last year, as a cheaper and more compact alternative to the bigger Qashqai.
While the compact crossover couldn’t quite match the sales numbers of its larger sibling throughout 2024, it remains a top ten contender, which is another impressive sales feat for Nissan.
The Juke currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of B, with a score of 68%. That puts it squarely in the middle of a crowded compact SUV class.
9. MG HS
The MG HS offers plenty of space and practicality for a price tag that many other brands can’t match – perhaps one of the reasons behind why this recently launched SUV is proving to be rather popular with British consumers. MG HS started last year’s race with a strong sales performance before falling away behind the competition to finish an annual eighth. Will history repeat itself this year?
Launched in 2024, the second-generation MG HS currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of A, with a score of 75% in our Expert Rating Index.
10. MG ZS
Alongside the HS, MG also decided to launch a new version of its smaller ZS SUV last year, and that decision seems to be the correct one. While the new model ultimately failed to snatch a spot in 2024’s end-of-year top ten rankings, it recorded several months of commendable sales tallies, and MG will be hoping for an even better sales showing this year.
The ZS currently holds a solid New Car Expert Rating of B, with a score of 69% in our industry-leading Expert Rating Index.
That kicks off the 2025 best-seller’s race – we will update this page with the February registrations results that will be published in the first week of March.