2026 (First Half) Britain: Best-Selling Car Brands and Market Overview

2026 (First Half Year): New passenger vehicle registrations in Britain increased by 9.2%, with Volkswagen, BMW, and Kia the best-selling car brands.

The British new car market expanded by 9.2% to 1,137,929 passenger vehicle registrations during the first half of 2026. Battery-electric vehicles took a record 25% share of new car sales in the United Kingdom. The best-selling brands were VW, Kia, and BMW, while the Ford Puma was again the top-selling car model in Britain in 2026 (HY).

Latest British Car Sales Data: 2026 (Q1): Brands, Models; 2025: Market Overview, Brands, Models, Electric, Car Parc; 2024-2008.

British New Car Market in 2026 (Half Year)

New passenger vehicle registrations in the United Kingdom increased by 9.2% to 1,137,929 cars in the first half of 2026.

Car Sales by Fuel Type in Britain in 2026 (Q1 + Q2)

New car sales by power source or fuel type in Britain in 2026 (First Half), according to the SMMT, were as follows:

Battery-electric cars reached their highest share ever in Britain, but the 25% is still way off the government-mandated 33% required for the full year 2026. The market share of diesel cars in Britain fell to below 5%.

Top 50 Best-Selling Car Brands in Britain in 2026 (First Half)

The 50 top-selling car brands in Britain in 2026 (First Half), according to the SMMT, were:

R	Marque	2026 (HY)	2025 (HY)	% Change
	Total UK Market	1,137,929	1,042,219	9.18
1	Volkswagen	90,150	94,156	-4.25
2	BMW	62,877	65,698	-4.29
3	Kia	62,845	62,005	1.35
4	Audi	58,662	53,538	9.57
5	Ford	58,199	60,402	-3.65
6	Mercedes	49,982	47,970	4.19
7	Vauxhall	49,001	46,682	4.97
8	MG	48,741	42,617	14.37
9	Skoda	46,508	43,837	6.09
10	Toyota	45,584	46,349	-1.65
11	Hyundai	45,388	48,778	-6.95
12	Peugeot	41,617	48,660	-14.47
13	Nissan	40,953	49,149	-16.68
14	BYD	37,795	19,390	94.92
15	Renault	36,248	33,237	9.06
16	Volvo	35,352	33,870	4.38
17	Land Rover	34,772	35,247	-1.35
18	Jaecoo	34,067	8,399	305.61
19	Mini	29,471	21,953	34.25
20	Tesla	27,677	22,721	21.81
21	Cupra	21,909	19,122	14.57
22	Omoda	18,761	6,941	170.29
23	Chery	17,979	0	0.00
24	Citroen	16,530	9,383	76.17
25	Dacia	15,222	16,125	-5.60
26	Mazda	14,870	18,809	-20.94
27	Suzuki	13,741	9,499	44.66
28	Honda	10,783	13,220	-18.43
29	Porsche	9,526	9,531	-0.05
30	Polestar	9,086	8,323	9.17
31	Seat	8,772	12,324	-28.82
32	Lexus	8,033	8,784	-8.55
33	Leapmotor	6,770	542	1,149.08
34	Geely	6,497	0	0.00
35	Jeep	6,314	6,624	-4.68
36	Fiat	3,748	6,136	-38.92
37	Alpine	1,902	327	481.65
38	Alfa Romeo	1,624	1,308	24.16
39	Changan	1,579	0	0.00
40	Smart	1,159	775	49.55
41	Subaru	939	1,261	-25.54
42	Kgm	843	835	0.96
43	Xpeng	767	165	364.85
44	Genesis	626	789	-20.66
45	Lotus	578	814	-28.99
46	Abarth	313	201	55.72
47	Maserati	255	171	49.12
48	GWM	144	193	-25.39
49	Ineos	136	131	3.82
50	DS	112	948	-88.19

Top Car Brands in Britain in 2026 (Half Year)

Volkswagen remained the leading car brand in Britain during the first half of 2026 but lost more than a percentage point market share. BMW maintained its second place but also had weaker sales. The two German car brands were the worst performers among the top ten brands in Britain thus far in 2026, although Hyundai, Peugeot, and Nissan sales were so much weaker that they’ve slipped out of the top ten.

How competitive is the British new car market? In the first half of 2026, only two other brands were in the same sales rank position as a year ago: Kia at 3 and Polestar at 30.

The most improved brands were mostly Chinese: Leapmotor sales were up 1,149%, Xpeng up 365%, Jaecoo up 305%, Omoda up 170% and BYD up 95%. Alpine was the notable exception with the French brand increasing sales by 482%.

Chery improved on the sales ranking from 52 to 23, Jaecoo improved from 29 to 18, and BYD from 19 to 14.

Tesla slipped from 17 to 20 despite increasing sales by a fifth.

The worst-performing larger brands were Fiat, Seat, Mazda, Honda, and Nissan.