10 most popular cars in the UK right now

The UK’s new car market fell -10.4% in April, with 120,331 units registered, according to the latest data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It was the sixth fall in the last seven months, reflecting a fragile economic backdrop and weakened consumer confidence, with 13,943 fewer cars registered in the month compared with the year before and 25.3% behind pre-pandemic April 2019, the group said.

“In what is traditionally a quieter month following the March plate change, volumes were also impacted by the late timing of Easter, resulting in fewer working days. In addition, the implementation of Vehicle Excise Duty changes affecting all new cars, including the Expensive Car Supplement, which became applicable to many new electric vehicles from 1 April, pushed transactions into March as shrewd buyers got ahead of the tax increases,” the group said.

The data shows that the Kia Sportage was the bestselling car in April (3.514 units sold), followed by the Ford Puma (3,311) and the Vauxhall Corsa (2,376). The Nissan Qashqai (2,197) and the Audi A3 (2,112) help round out the top five.

“April’s performance is disappointing but expected after March’s surge,” said Mike Hawes (CEO of SMMT). “Another month of growth for electric vehicle registrations is good news, however, even if demand remains well below ambition. Recent government adjustments to flexibilities and compliance within the ZEV Mandate are welcome and an important first step in relieving some of the pressure on the market and manufacturers.”

“However, EV uptake is still being heavily and unsustainably subsidised by the industry, which is why a compelling package of measures from government is essential if consumers are going to make the switch.”

The news comes as the latest market outlook revises up full year 2025 new car registrations to 1.964 million units but keeps 2026 expectations below the two million mark for what would be the seventh successive year.

Market share expectations for new BEV registrations, meanwhile, remain fairly constant with only a marginal revision downward from the January view, by -0.2 percentage points to 23.5% for this year, and by -0.3 percentage points to 28% next year, compared with the ZEV Mandate targets of 28% and 33% respectively.