The February new car market turned in a “subdued” performance but looking at the performance of individual brands, there were clear winners and losers for the month.
In an overall market that fell -1%, Chinese brand BYD continued to surge ahead with registrations up 334.3% to 1,177 units followed by Polestar, which saw a 98.8% increase to 515 units for the month.
Mini saw registrations surge 68.1% to 3,978 vehicles while Mazda was ahead 53.2% to 1,339 units.
At the other end of the table some brands struggled to make progress. Jaguar saw a -72.1% decline to just 206 sales compared to 738 a year ago.
Citroen was down -59.2% to 8,832 vehicles compared to 2,165 a year ago. Seat was adrift 58.5% to 986 units compared to 2,378 in February 2024.
Audi was down 25.4% to 3,860 vehicles compared to 5,176 a year ago and Ford was down 24.2% to 4,433 units compared to 5,845 in February 2024.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “Although February’s figures show a subdued overall market.
“It is always dangerous, however, to draw conclusions from a single month, especially one as small and volatile as February.
“With the all-important March number plate change now upon us, and tax changes taking effect in April that will, perversely, dissuade EV purchases, we expect significant demand for these new products next month – but, long term, EV consumers need carrots, not ever more sticks.”
February new car sales by brand % change yoy
| MARQUE | 2025 | % Market share |
| Abarth | 26 | -55.93 |
| Genesis | 114 | 660.00 |
| BYD | 1,177 | 334.32 |
| Polestar | 515 | 98.84 |
| Other British | 173 | 94.38 |
| Bentley | 30 | 87.50 |
| MINI | 3,978 | 68.13 |
| Mazda | 1,339 | 53.20 |
| Jeep | 557 | 51.36 |
| Lexus | 598 | 43.75 |
| Cupra | 1,607 | 35.84 |
| Subaru | 85 | 30.77 |
| Peugeot | 4,264 | 28.09 |
| Volvo | 2,803 | 26.49 |
| Land Rover | 1,878 | 23.80 |
| Renault | 2,539 | 23.07 |
| Tesla | 3,852 | 20.68 |
| Porsche | 603 | 14.20 |
| Hyundai | 4,111 | 10.54 |
| Skoda | 3,702 | 4.64 |
| Mercedes-Benz | 3,390 | 4.18 |
| Volkswagen | 8,029 | 3.95 |
| Chevrolet | 16 | 0.00 |
| Fisker | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jaecoo | 725 | 0.00 |
| Maxus | 11 | 0.00 |
| Omoda | 519 | 0.00 |
| Skywell | 0 | 0.00 |
| Total | 84,054 | -0.98 |
| Kia | 4,257 | -3.23 |
| MG | 3,325 | -4.81 |
| Nissan | 3,948 | -6.11 |
| Alfa Romeo | 56 | -6.67 |
| Toyota | 2,968 | -7.13 |
| Maserati | 11 | -15.38 |
| Vauxhall | 3,889 | -18.71 |
| BMW | 4,724 | -20.08 |
| Dacia | 981 | -21.20 |
| Fiat | 606 | -21.81 |
| Honda | 1,427 | -22.95 |
| Ford | 4,433 | -24.16 |
| Audi | 3,860 | -25.43 |
| Suzuki | 701 | -35.15 |
| smart | 43 | -44.87 |
| Ineos | 4 | -50.00 |
| Other Imports | 41 | -50.60 |
| SEAT | 986 | -58.54 |
| Citroen | 883 | -59.21 |
| Alpine | 6 | -68.42 |
| DS | 22 | -71.79 |
| Jaguar | 206 | -72.09 |
| KGM | 31 | -76.87 |
| GWM | 5 | -91.07 |
(Source: SMMT)