In full-year 2023, the best-selling battery electric car models in Britain were the Tesla Model Y and the MG 4.
2023 (January to December): The Tesla Model Y was the best-selling electric car model in Britain for the second consecutive year. A new model, the MG 4 was the second most popular while the Audi Q4 e-tron was third. Although battery-electric car sales increased by 17.8% in Britain in 2023 to 314,687 vehicles, the market share of electric cars actually slipped slightly to 16.5%.
In 2023, the new car market in Britain expanded by 17.9% to 1,903,054 newly registered passenger vehicles. Volkswagen was the top-selling brand in the UK. The Ford Puma was the favorite car model of the British in 2023 and the Tesla Model Y was the best-selling battery-electric car in the UK.
Latest British Car Sales Data: 2023: Market Overview, Brands, Models, Electric; 2022-2008.
Ten Best-Selling Electric Cars in Britain in 2023 (Full Year)
The ten most popular battery-electric car models in the UK in 2023 according to the SMMT were:
| R23 | Brand & Model | Sales 2023 | Sales in 2022 |
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 35,899 | 35,551 |
| 2 | MG 4 | 21,715 | |
| 3 | Audi Q4 e-tron | 16,757 | 6,594 |
| 4 | Tesla Model 3 | 13,536 | 19,071 |
| 5 | Polestar 2 | 12,542 | 7,345 |
| 6 | Volkswagen ID.3 | 10,295 | 9,832 |
| 7 | Kia e-Niro | 10,084 | 11,197 |
| 8 | BMW i4 | 8,940 | 6,699 |
| 9 | Volkswagen ID4 | 8,495 | |
| 10 | Skoda Enyaq iV | 8,136 | |
| 11 | Source: SMMT |
Britain’s Favorite Electric Car Models in 2023
In 2023, for the second consecutive year, the Tesla Model Y was the top-selling electric car model in Britain. However, sales volume for the Model Y was only about 350 cars more than a year ago.
The MG 4 took second place while the Audi Q4 e-tron improved from tenth to third.
Last year’s second most popular electric car in Britain, the Tesla Model 3 slipped to fourth with lower sales. In 2021, when competition was much weaker, the Model 3 was the top-selling electric car model with sales of nearly 35,000.
The Polestar 2 improved two rank positions while the Volkswagen ID.3 slipped two and the Kia e-Niro was down from third to seventh. The BMW i4 improved one rank position.
The VW ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq iV are new entrants onto the top-ten list.
Overall, BEVs accounted for one in six new cars registered in Britain in 2023, with the majority taken by business and fleet buyers who benefit from compelling tax incentives. In contrast, only one in 11 private buyers chose a BEV. The industry typically called for government support and tax incentives rather than producing cheaper electric cars that private buyers could afford. In the UK as in much of Europe, European carmakers are ignoring the lower end of the electric car markets, which could be a very risky strategy given that Chinese carmakers are likely to increasingly focus on exports as the domestic electric car market cools down.
In 2023, the new car market in Britain expanded by 17.9% to 1,903,054 newly registered passenger vehicles. Volkswagen was the top-selling brand in the UK. The Ford Puma was the favorite car model of the British in 2023 and the Tesla Model Y was the best-selling battery-electric car in the UK.
Latest British Car Sales Data: 2023: Market Overview, Brands, Models, Electric; 2022-2008.
