The Ford Puma is the most popular vehicle in the UK in August.
New car sales in the UK soar 24.4% year-on-year in July to 85,657 units, the highest July volume since 2020. The year-to-date tally is now up a robust 20% to 1,179,298 sales. Private sales go completely against the market at -8.1% to 32,071 and 37.4% share vs. 50.7% in August 2022 whereas fleet sales surge 58.4% to 51,951 and 60.7% share vs. 47.6% a year ago. Business sales are up 39.4% to 1,635. Year-to-date, the trend is similar with private sales up just 0.9% to 527,442 and 44.7% share vs. 53.2% over the same period last year while fleet sales shoot up 42.6% to 623,637 units and 52.9% share vs. 44.5% a year ago. Business sales are up 22.8% to 28,219 and 2.4% share.
Looking at fuel/propulsion type, diesel is off -18.1% to just 3,647 sales and 4.3% share vs. 6.5% in August 2022, petrol is up 9.8% to 34,756 and 40.6% share vs. 46% a year ago, mild hybrids (MHEVs) are up 36.9% to 14,859 and 17.3% share vs. 15.8%, BEVs are up 72.3% to 17,243 and 20.1% share (its highest so far this year) vs. 14.5% last year, PHEV gain 70% to 6,601 and 7.7% share vs. 5.6% and HEVs edge up 6.8% to 8,551 and 10% share vs. 11.6% a year ago. Year-to-date, diesel is down -17.5% To 46,790 and 4% share vs. 5.8% over the first 8 months of 2022, petrol is up 13% to 490,483 and 41.6% share vs. 44.2%, MHEVs ar euphorias 24.5% to 223,804 and 19% share vs. 18.3%, BEVs skyrocket 40.5% to 193,221 and 16.4% share vs. 14%, PHEVs are up 30.4% to 80,458 and 6.8% share vs. 6.3% and HEVs are up 27.5% to 144,542 and 12.3% share vs. 11.5% over the same period in 2022.
Source: SMMT
In the brands ranking, Volkswagen (+17.4%) easily holds onto the top spot with 9.7% share vs. 8.6% year-to-date, distancing Ford (+23.8%) at 8.7% share vs. 7.7% YTD. Audi (+32.8%) beats the market in third place above Vauxhall (+19.9%) back up three spots on July to #4. Tesla (+325.1%) is up 8 ranks on last month to #9, with Skoda (+46.3%) and Kia (+26.8%) also performing very well in the remainder of the Top 10. Below, Polestar (+593.2%), Renault (+158.5%), Suzuki (+156.3%), Porsche (+146.3%), MG (+138.6%), Lexus (+135.8%), Volvo (+118.9%) and Seat (+95.7%) all impress by doubling their year-ago volumes or more.
Model-wise, the Ford Puma (+24.6%) cements its lead by lodging a third pole position in the past 4 months. However this month the Tesla Model Y is only 23 units below and climbs 8 spots on July to #2. It ranks #3 year-to-date. The Vauxhall Corsa (+20.7%) trails the market but ranks at a solid third place above the Ford Kuga (+38.9%) and Vauxhall Mokka (+43.6%), The Tesla Model 3 makes a return into the UK Top 10 for the first time since December 2022 at #6. The Hyundai Tucson (-8.2%) and VW T-Roc (+7.7%) wobble just as the Ford Fiesta and Audi A3 round out the Top 10.
Previous month: UK July 2023: Ford Puma affirms domination, 5 SUVs in Top 5
One year ago: UK August 2022: Market edges up 1.2%, Hyundai breaks share record again, VW Polo #1, first Top 10 for Citroen C3
Full August 2023 Top 45 All brands and Top 10 models below.
UK August 2023 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Aug-23 | % | /22 | Jul | 2023 | % | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 8,335 | 9.7% | 17.4% | 1 | 101,020 | 8.6% | 38.1% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Ford | 7,449 | 8.7% | 23.8% | 2 | 91,125 | 7.7% | 23.1% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Audi | 6,084 | 7.1% | 32.8% | 3 | 85,285 | 7.2% | 26.7% | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Vauxhall | 5,562 | 6.5% | 19.9% | 7 | 62,519 | 5.3% | 10.9% | 7 | 7 |
| 5 | BMW | 4,750 | 5.5% | -1.7% | 5 | 65,693 | 5.6% | -0.8% | 6 | 4 |
| 6 | Kia | 4,663 | 5.4% | 26.8% | 4 | 73,047 | 6.2% | 7.2% | 4 | 6 |
| 7 | Toyota | 4,099 | 4.8% | -10.2% | 6 | 68,690 | 5.8% | 7.9% | 5 | 5 |
| 8 | Hyundai | 4,082 | 4.8% | -10.1% | 8 | 56,912 | 4.8% | 9.6% | 8 | 9 |
| 9 | Tesla | 4,021 | 4.7% | 325.1% | 17 | 33,302 | 2.8% | 49.7% | 15 | 11 |
| 10 | Skoda | 3,737 | 4.4% | 46.3% | 9 | 44,565 | 3.8% | 51.0% | 12 | 14 |
| 11 | Mercedes | 3,646 | 4.3% | 12.6% | 12 | 52,415 | 4.4% | -5.2% | 10 | 8 |
| 12 | MG | 3,350 | 3.9% | 138.6% | 11 | 49,044 | 4.2% | 66.0% | 11 | 13 |
| 13 | Peugeot | 3,112 | 3.6% | 34.8% | 15 | 37,040 | 3.1% | 0.6% | 13 | 12 |
| 14 | Nissan | 2,366 | 2.8% | 10.6% | 10 | 53,762 | 4.6% | 41.1% | 9 | 10 |
| 15 | Renault | 2,042 | 2.4% | 158.5% | 18 | 22,040 | 1.9% | 24.4% | 18 | 18 |
| 16 | Suzuki | 1,794 | 2.1% | 156.3% | 20 | 16,206 | 1.4% | 35.0% | 24 | 26 |
| 17 | Citroen | 1,698 | 2.0% | -28.9% | 25 | 18,914 | 1.6% | 2.0% | 21 | 19 |
| 18 | Volvo | 1,648 | 1.9% | 118.9% | 14 | 30,550 | 2.6% | 36.8% | 16 | 17 |
| 19 | Seat | 1,644 | 1.9% | 95.7% | 19 | 20,274 | 1.7% | 31.1% | 19 | 23 |
| 20 | Mini | 1,374 | 1.6% | -12.6% | 16 | 27,507 | 2.3% | 2.0% | 17 | 15 |
| 21 | Cupra | 1,284 | 1.5% | 50.4% | 22 | 14,613 | 1.2% | 88.5% | 26 | 27 |
| 22 | Land Rover | 1,131 | 1.3% | -14.6% | 13 | 33,458 | 2.8% | 15.1% | 14 | 16 |
| 23 | Mazda | 1,110 | 1.3% | -8.3% | 21 | 19,352 | 1.6% | 38.1% | 20 | 21 |
| 24 | Dacia | 1,081 | 1.3% | -36.1% | 26 | 18,057 | 1.5% | 4.9% | 22 | 20 |
| 25 | Porsche | 1,064 | 1.2% | 146.3% | 24 | 15,295 | 1.3% | 48.5% | 25 | 25 |
| 26 | Fiat | 959 | 1.1% | 53.0% | 30 | 11,116 | 0.9% | -17.1% | 27 | 24 |
| 27 | Honda | 861 | 1.0% | -23.3% | 23 | 17,170 | 1.5% | 9.4% | 23 | 22 |
| 28 | Polestar | 818 | 1.0% | 593.2% | 27 | 8,982 | 0.8% | 186.1% | 28 | 30 |
| 29 | Lexus | 691 | 0.8% | 135.8% | 28 | 8,623 | 0.7% | 53.2% | 29 | 29 |
| 30 | Jaguar | 348 | 0.4% | -43.0% | 29 | 8,171 | 0.7% | -4.4% | 30 | 28 |
| 31 | Ora | 86 | 0.1% | new | 39 | 459 | 0.0% | new | 40 | 42 |
| 32 | Jeep | 77 | 0.1% | -61.5% | 31 | 1,880 | 0.2% | 7.1% | 31 | 32 |
| 33 | Subaru | 75 | 0.1% | 41.5% | 34 | 1,269 | 0.1% | 93.4% | 33 | 37 |
| 34 | Alfa Romeo | 70 | 0.1% | 18.6% | 32 | 940 | 0.1% | -7.7% | 35 | 34 |
| 35 | Genesis | 69 | 0.1% | 23.2% | 42 | 920 | 0.1% | 120.6% | 36 | 39 |
| 36 | DS | 64 | 0.1% | -78.5% | 33 | 1,736 | 0.1% | -15.1% | 32 | 31 |
| 37 | Ineos | 62 | 0.1% | new | 36 | 583 | 0.0% | new | 39 | – |
| 38 | Bentley | 44 | 0.1% | 4.8% | 37 | 915 | 0.1% | -13.7% | 37 | 33 |
| 39 | Smart | 42 | 0.0% | -10.6% | 43 | 248 | 0.0% | -73.6% | 42 | 38 |
| 40 | SsangYong | 35 | 0.0% | -57.8% | 35 | 990 | 0.1% | 4.2% | 34 | 36 |
| 41 | BYD | 33 | 0.0% | new | 38 | 213 | 0.0% | new | 43 | – |
| 42 | Abarth | 30 | 0.0% | 328.6% | 40 | 399 | 0.0% | -60.1% | 41 | 35 |
| 43 | Maserati | 26 | 0.0% | 85.7% | 41 | 638 | 0.1% | 31.5% | 38 | 40 |
| 44 | Alpine | 9 | 0.0% | 350.0% | 44 | 210 | 0.0% | 5.5% | 44 | 41 |
| 45 | Maxus | 0 | 0.0% | new | – | 8 | 0.0% | new | 45 | – |
| – | Other British | 78 | 0.1% | 25.8% | – | 2,002 | 0.2% | 43.6% | – | – |
| – | Other Imports | 54 | 0.1% | -21.7% | – | 1,141 | 0.1% | 8.5% | – | – |
UK August 2023 – models:
| Pos | Model | Aug-23 | % | /22 | Jul | 2023 | % | /22 | Pos | FY22 |
| 1 | Ford Puma | 2,336 | 2.7% | 24.6% | 1 | 29,225 | 2.5% | 33.6% | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Tesla Model Y | 2,313 | 2.7% | n/a | 10 | 24,148 | 2.0% | n/a | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Vauxhall Corsa | 1,941 | 2.3% | 20.7% | 6 | 25,692 | 2.2% | -1.0% | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Ford Kuga | 1,779 | 2.1% | 38.9% | 7 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 9 |
| 5 | Vauxhall Mokka | 1,763 | 2.1% | 43.6% | 4 | 19,761 | 1.7% | 40.3% | 8 | n/a |
| 6 | Tesla Model 3 | 1,698 | 2.0% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 7 | Hyundai Tucson | 1,597 | 1.9% | -8.2% | 5 | 22,883 | 1.9% | 21.0% | 5 | 7 |
| 8 | VW T-Roc | 1,572 | 1.8% | 7.7% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 9 | Ford Fiesta | 1,538 | 1.8% | n/a | n/a | 19,018 | 1.6% | n/a | 9 | 10 |
| 10 | Audi A3 | 1,362 | 1.6% | n/a | 8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| n/a | Kia Sportage | 1,297 | 1.5% | 31.3% | 2 | 22,414 | 1.9% | 16.8% | 6 | 6 |
| n/a | Nissan Qashqai | 1,002 | 1.2% | 8.2% | 3 | 24,017 | 2.0% | 19.9% | 4 | 1 |
| n/a | Mini | 702 | 0.8% | -28.1% | n/a | 18,748 | 1.6% | -5.9% | 10 | 5 |
| n/a | Nissan Juke | 638 | 0.7% | n/a | n/a | 21,136 | 1.8% | n/a | 7 | n/a |
Source: SMMT
