Best-selling cars 2024: the UK’s top 10 most popular models
These are the country’s most popular cars of the year so far, but which is in pole position?
We’re already over half way through 2024, and the UK’s new car market is showing no sign of slowing down as June marked yet another consecutive month of growth. 2024 has also been the first year since 2019 that over a million cars were registered by the half-year point. As has been the case for most of this year so far, the UK’s best-selling cars continue to be made up of a fairly wide variety of models, including superminis, hatchbacks and SUVs.
179,263 new cars hit the road in June, bringing the year’s running total up to 1,006,763. Unfortunately, any celebrations will be short-lived as registrations are still 20 per cent down compared to 2019’s pre-covid numbers.
For various reasons, including the election-related uncertainty around the 2035 ban on petrol and diesel cars, private buyers still appear to be hesitant about making the switch to electric power, as they only accounted for one in five battery-electric vehicle (BEV) sales in June. Thanks largely to fleet sales, though, BEVs still managed to make up 19 per cent of all vehicle registrations last month.
Continuing to lead the way for registrations in 2024 is last year’s best-selling car, the Ford Puma. This small SUV is holding firmly at the top of the charts with another 3,169 units hitting the road in June. Meanwhile, the Kia Sportage continues to hold steady as the runner-up with 4,113 registered, the highest number of any car in June. The Hyundai Tucson was the only new-entry in the top 10 best selling cars list in June as the usual suspects continued to deliver the goods.
Top 10 best-selling cars 2024
Without further ado, here are the UK’s official best-selling cars of 2024 so far, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
10. Volkswagen T-Roc - 15,667
Many people see the Volkswagen Golf as a staple of the hatchback world but, in today’s market, many buyers prefer SUVs. This is where the T-Roc comes in, this small SUV shares the same underpinnings as the Golf, so owners essentially get the best of both worlds. It’s still good to drive and running costs are reasonable, but it has more presence on the road and there’s more room inside.
9. Hyundai Tucson - 16,182
Our four-time Mid-size SUV of the Year award winner appears to be striking the right chords with plenty of buyers, too. The Hyundai Tucson offers styling and tech that wouldn’t be out of place on a high-end model, along with plenty of practicality, and a recent midlife refresh has helped to keep it up to speed with swathes of new rivals, too.
8. MG HS - 16,730
After a brief stint as the UK’s best-selling car in January 2023, the MG HS is still doing its part to bring the iconic octagonal badge back into the mainstream. This family-oriented SUV is one of the older members of MG’s line-up, so it’s set to be replaced later this year. For now, though, the current model still carries a starting price that’s lower than most of the competition at under £25,000, and it’s a hit with budget-conscious buyers as a result.
7. BMW 1 Series - 17,587
This list may be heavily populated with SUVs, but there’s still room for a premium hatchback. The BMW 1 Series offers all of the driver engagement and quality that you’d expect, but wraps it up in a more compact yet highly practical body. It’s pretty easy to see why it’s proving so popular.
6. Volkswagen Golf - 19,036
The latest Volkswagen Golf has been met with its fair share of criticism, with VW customers being deterred by oversights such as an infuriating lack of physical controls and backlighting. However, the brand has set out to right many of its wrongs with the updated Mk8.5 model, and these corrections appear to be improving the Golf’s reputation at long last.
5. Audi A3 - 19,209
Edging ahead of its rival, the BMW 1 Series, the Audi A3 is the second premium hatchback to appear on this list. The BMW is a bit more fun to drive, but the Audi boasts plenty of luxury and tech for a car of its size, and it’s well suited to use as a family car, too. UK buyers are clearly still fans of the big German brands, but it would seem their compact executive saloons are no longer the models of choice for the mass market.
4. Nissan Juke - 19,429
Much like the larger Qashqai, the Nissan Juke enjoys a pretty constant stream of sales. This funky little SUV is undoubtedly one of the more distinctive models in this area of the market. A mid-life facelift has given the Juke a new lease of life, but it’s still struggling to top the mighty Ford Puma when it comes to outright appeal.
3. Nissan Qashqai - 22,881
The Nissan Qashqai was 2022’s best-seller, and it’s clear that it’s still a firm favourite today. With the freshly-facelifted model now hitting the showrooms, the second half of 2024 could be make or break for this staple mid-size SUV. An all-electric variant is also due to arrive very soon and this could bring-in even more buyers if the price is right.
2. Kia Sportage - 24,139
The fifth-generation Kia Sportage has been a regular sight on this list since it launched in 2021, and it seems that it’s only increasing in popularity. With its distinctive styling, technology that’s bang up-to-date and overall quality feel, the latest Sportage is worlds apart from its predecessors. In fact, we think it’s one of the best mid-size SUVs to buy right now.
1. Ford Puma - 26,374
The Ford Puma was the nation’s best-seller in 2023, and things are certainly looking very bright for it in 2024, too. Although anything can happen in the motoring world, the Fiesta-based small SUV has now stood firmly in first place for several months. A fully-electric Puma is due to arrive later this year, too, which is likely to bring a further boost to the small SUV’s impressive sales performance.
The UK’s best-selling cars 2024
- Ford Puma
- Kia Sportage
- Nissan Qashqai
- Nissan Juke
- Audi A3
- Volkswagen Golf
- BMW 1 Series
- MG HS
- Hyundai Tucson
- Volkswagen T-Roc
Sales vs registrations: inside the numbers
There’s an important distinction to be made where the UK’s monthly and annual car sales numbers are concerned. Namely, that they don’t actually count the number of cars sold in the sense that many people might imagine. The numbers provided by the SMMT are for car ‘registrations’ rather than being sales figures.
When customers buy a new car it is registered before it can be driven on the road but cars are also registered by manufacturers and dealers before they have a customer to go to. This practice of processing pre-registered cars is done for various reasons but often the goal is to move stock through the supply chain, avoiding bottlenecks or to hit targets. It means that a significant proportion of the cars in the ‘sales’ figures could be pre-registered and estimates range from between 10 and 20 per cent.
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