The Nissan Qashqai is the best-selling vehicle in the UK in September.
The UK new car market advances 21% year-on-year in the all important September licence plate change month, marking a 14th consecutive positive month. Sales total 272,610 vs. 225,269 last year and represent the highest August volume since 2020. We are however still very far from the 400,000+ sales achieved between 2013 and 2017. The year-to-date tally stands at 1,451,908, up 20.2% over the same period in 2022. Once again we witness the almost exact swapping of market share between private and fleet sales, with private sales up just 5.8% to 122,944 and 45.1% share vs. 51.6% a year ago and fleet sales up 40.8% to 52.5% share vs. 45.2% in September 2022. Business sales are down -12% to 6,410 and 2.4% share. Year-to-date, the situation is similar with private sales up 1.8% to 650,386 and 44.8% share vs. 52.9% last year and fleet sales surging 42.3% to 766,893 and 52.8% share vs. 44.6%. Business sales gain 14.4% to 34,629 and 2.4% share also.
As for sales by fuel and propulsion, diesel is down -4.2% to 9,896 and 3.6% share vs. 4.6% in September 2022, petrol is up 15% to 105,463 and 38.7% share vs. 40.7% a year ago, HEVs are up 30.7% to 38,014 and 13.9% share vs. 12.9%, MHEVs gain 26.5% to 55,379 and 20.3% share vs. 19.4% a year ago, PHEV soar 50.9% to 18,535 and 6.8% vs. 5.5% last year and BEVs score a 41st consecutive year-on-year gain at +18.9% to 45,323 but given this growth is below the market their share drops from 16.9% in September 2022 to 16.6% now. Year-to-date, diesel is down -15.4% to 56,686 and 3.9% share vs. 5.5% last year, petrol is up 13.3% to 595,946 and 41% vs. 43.5% a year ago, HEVs surge 28.2% to 182,556 and 12.6% share vs. 11.8%, MHEVs are up 24.9% to 279,183 and 19.2% share vs. 18.5%, PHEVs soar 33.8% to 98,993 and 6.8% share vs. 6.1% and BEVs lift 35.8% to 238,544 and 16.4% share vs. 14.5% over the same period in 2022.
Source: SMMT
In the brands ranking, Volkswagen (+17.5%) keeps the lead despite trailing the market slightly, it is followed like in August and year-to-date by Ford (-0.4%) and a surging Audi (+47.2%). Kia (+13%), Toyota (+6.8%) and Nissan (+7.4%) follow with lukewarm results. Mercedes (+44.2%), Vauxhall (up an unusual 38.9%) and MG (+44%) all show spectacular gains below. MG even lodges its largest ever monthly volume (12,616), eclipsing the 12,232 it hit last March, and scores its 2nd highest ranking and share (#9 and 4.6%) below the #7 and 5.6% of last January. Peugeot (+55.5%), Skoda (+37%), Renault (+81.3%) and Volvo (+76.8%) all impress further down. Tesla is down a damning -35.6% to #16.
Model-wise, the Nissan Qashqai (-8%) shoots back up to the pole position, its first since last November. This way, it climbs from #4 to #2 in the YTD charts. Keep in mind the Qashqai topped the Full Year ranking in 2022 for the first time. Still by for the #1 YTD, the Ford Puma (+39.5%) is relegated to 2nd place in September but sports a fantastic gain. It is followed by the Kia Sportage (+12.4%) and the Ford Kuga (+2.6%). The MG ZS at #5 and Hyundai Tucson (+20.4%) at #6 make the Top 6 entirely composed of SUVs for the first time in UK history. It’s the ZS’s third incursion in the monthly UK top ten and a new ranking record eclipsing the #6 it reached in November 2021. MG even places two nameplates inside the Top 10 for the first time in history with the HS appearing at #10. Surprisingly, the Tesla Model Y is outside the Top 10 (by just one sale) and falls one spot in the YTD charts to #4.
Previous month: UK August 2023: Ford Puma and Tesla Model Y top market up 24.4%
One year ago: UK September 2022: Nissan Qashqai and Tesla Model Y top market up a shy 4.6%
Full September 2023 Top 45 All brands and Top 10 models below.
UK September 2023 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Sep-23 | % | /22 | Aug | 2023 | % | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 22,313 | 8.2% | 17.5% | 1 | 123,333 | 8.5% | 33.8% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Ford | 20,650 | 7.6% | -0.4% | 2 | 111,775 | 7.7% | 17.9% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Audi | 18,783 | 6.9% | 47.2% | 3 | 104,068 | 7.2% | 30.0% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Kia | 16,906 | 6.2% | 13.0% | 6 | 89,953 | 6.2% | 8.2% | 4 | 6 |
| 5 | Toyota | 16,333 | 6.0% | 6.8% | 7 | 85,023 | 5.9% | 7.7% | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Nissan | 15,794 | 5.8% | 7.4% | 14 | 69,556 | 4.8% | 31.7% | 8 | 10 |
| 7 | Mercedes | 14,486 | 5.3% | 44.2% | 11 | 66,901 | 4.6% | 2.4% | 10 | 8 |
| 8 | Vauxhall | 13,434 | 4.9% | 38.9% | 4 | 75,953 | 5.2% | 15.0% | 7 | 7 |
| 9 | MG | 12,616 | 4.6% | 44.0% | 12 | 61,660 | 4.2% | 60.9% | 11 | 13 |
| 10 | BMW | 12,522 | 4.6% | -6.9% | 5 | 78,215 | 5.4% | -1.8% | 6 | 4 |
| 11 | Hyundai | 12,388 | 4.5% | 1.9% | 8 | 69,300 | 4.8% | 8.1% | 9 | 9 |
| 12 | Peugeot | 9,331 | 3.4% | 55.5% | 13 | 46,371 | 3.2% | 8.3% | 13 | 12 |
| 13 | Skoda | 8,678 | 3.2% | 37.0% | 10 | 53,243 | 3.7% | 48.5% | 12 | 14 |
| 14 | Renault | 8,080 | 3.0% | 81.3% | 15 | 30,120 | 2.1% | 35.8% | 18 | 18 |
| 15 | Volvo | 6,617 | 2.4% | 76.8% | 18 | 37,167 | 2.6% | 42.5% | 16 | 17 |
| 16 | Tesla | 6,427 | 2.4% | -35.6% | 9 | 39,729 | 2.7% | 23.3% | 14 | 11 |
| 17 | Land Rover | 6,117 | 2.2% | 28.1% | 22 | 39,575 | 2.7% | 16.9% | 15 | 16 |
| 18 | Mini | 5,528 | 2.0% | 5.1% | 20 | 33,035 | 2.3% | 2.5% | 17 | 15 |
| 19 | Mazda | 5,507 | 2.0% | 18.8% | 23 | 24,859 | 1.7% | 33.3% | 19 | 21 |
| 20 | Citroen | 4,808 | 1.8% | 12.6% | 17 | 23,722 | 1.6% | 4.0% | 21 | 19 |
| 21 | Suzuki | 4,588 | 1.7% | 121.5% | 16 | 20,794 | 1.4% | 47.7% | 23 | 26 |
| 22 | Seat | 4,066 | 1.5% | 177.4% | 19 | 24,340 | 1.7% | 43.8% | 20 | 23 |
| 23 | Cupra | 4,062 | 1.5% | 49.2% | 21 | 18,675 | 1.3% | 78.3% | 25 | 27 |
| 24 | Dacia | 3,399 | 1.2% | -16.4% | 24 | 21,456 | 1.5% | 0.8% | 22 | 20 |
| 25 | Lexus | 3,351 | 1.2% | 117.5% | 29 | 11,974 | 0.8% | 67.0% | 28 | 29 |
| 26 | Honda | 3,200 | 1.2% | -14.7% | 27 | 20,370 | 1.4% | 4.8% | 24 | 22 |
| 27 | Fiat | 3,116 | 1.1% | 56.9% | 26 | 14,232 | 1.0% | -7.6% | 27 | 24 |
| 28 | Porsche | 2,457 | 0.9% | 49.0% | 25 | 17,752 | 1.2% | 48.6% | 26 | 25 |
| 29 | Jaguar | 2,008 | 0.7% | 25.9% | 30 | 10,179 | 0.7% | 0.3% | 29 | 28 |
| 30 | Polestar | 1,136 | 0.4% | 44.5% | 28 | 10,118 | 0.7% | 157.8% | 30 | 30 |
| 31 | Subaru | 552 | 0.2% | 137.9% | 33 | 1,821 | 0.1% | 105.1% | 33 | 37 |
| 32 | Jeep | 516 | 0.2% | 84.3% | 32 | 2,396 | 0.2% | 17.7% | 31 | 32 |
| 33 | Abarth | 288 | 0.1% | 190.9% | 42 | 687 | 0.0% | -37.5% | 40 | 35 |
| 34 | SsangYong | 274 | 0.1% | 6.6% | 40 | 1,264 | 0.1% | 4.7% | 34 | 36 |
| 35 | DS | 250 | 0.1% | -54.6% | 36 | 1,986 | 0.1% | -23.5% | 32 | 31 |
| 36 | BYD | 232 | 0.1% | new | 41 | 445 | 0.0% | new | 42 | – |
| 37 | Ora | 209 | 0.1% | new | 31 | 668 | 0.0% | new | 41 | 42 |
| 38 | Alfa Romeo | 189 | 0.1% | -33.7% | 34 | 1,129 | 0.1% | -13.4% | 35 | 34 |
| 39 | Ineos | 155 | 0.1% | new | 37 | 738 | 0.1% | new | 38 | – |
| 40 | Bentley | 147 | 0.1% | -19.7% | 38 | 1,062 | 0.1% | -14.6% | 36 | 33 |
| 41 | Genesis | 119 | 0.0% | -20.1% | 35 | 1,039 | 0.1% | 83.6% | 37 | 39 |
| 42 | Smart | 106 | 0.0% | -7.0% | 39 | 354 | 0.0% | -66.4% | 43 | 38 |
| 43 | Maserati | 84 | 0.0% | -7.7% | 43 | 722 | 0.0% | 25.3% | 39 | 40 |
| 44 | Alpine | 40 | 0.0% | 53.8% | 44 | 250 | 0.0% | 11.1% | 44 | 41 |
| 45 | Maxus | 4 | 0.0% | new | – | 12 | 0.0% | new | 45 | – |
| – | Other British | 517 | 0.2% | 113.6% | – | 2,519 | 0.2% | 54.0% | – | – |
| – | Other Imports | 227 | 0.1% | 63.3% | – | 1,368 | 0.1% | 14.9% | – | – |
UK September 2023 – models:
| Pos | Model | Sep-23 | % | /22 | Aug | 2023 | % | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Nissan Qashqai | 8,565 | 3.1% | -8.0% | n/a | 32,582 | 2.2% | 11.1% | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Ford Puma | 8,087 | 3.0% | 39.5% | 1 | 37,312 | 2.6% | 34.8% | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Kia Sportage | 5,739 | 2.1% | 12.4% | n/a | 28,153 | 1.9% | 15.9% | 5 | 6 |
| 4 | Ford Kuga | 4,638 | 1.7% | 2.6% | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 9 |
| 5 | MG ZS | 4,613 | 1.7% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 6 | Hyundai Tucson | 4,546 | 1.7% | 20.4% | 7 | 27,429 | 1.9% | 20.9% | 6 | 7 |
| 7 | Vauxhall Corsa | 4,485 | 1.6% | 31.9% | 3 | 30,177 | 2.1% | 2.8% | 3 | 2 |
| 8 | VW Polo | 4,427 | 1.6% | -31.6% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 9 | Nissan Juke | 4,411 | 1.6% | n/a | n/a | 25,547 | 1.8% | n/a | 7 | n/a |
| 10 | MG HS | 4,030 | 1.5% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| n/a | Tesla Model Y | 4,029 | 1.5% | -51.5% | 2 | 28,177 | 1.9% | 36.4% | 4 | 3 |
| n/a | Mini | 3,722 | 1.4% | 15.1% | n/a | 22,470 | 1.5% | -3.0% | 9 | 5 |
| n/a | Ford Fiesta | 3,428 | 1.3% | -25.0% | 9 | 22,446 | 1.5% | n/a | 10 | 10 |
| n/a | Vauxhall Mokka | 3,181 | 1.2% | n/a | 5 | 22,942 | 1.6% | n/a | 8 | n/a |
Source: SMMT
