It’s clear that all buyers want are affordable and desirable cars

Crisis? What crisis? Throughout 2025, there was much talk about the German auto industry being in trouble. But it’s clear that VW will remain the top-selling car brand in Britain, with BMW and Audi also in the top five and Mercedes not far behind. 

Seoul-sisters Hyundai-Kia have also enjoyed a highly productive 12 months. But my fear for these non-premium Korean brands is that sales will plateau due to two major problems: high retail prices (top versions of the Ioniq 9 cost almost £78k, and the EV9 is more than £82k) and, er, China. The former can be easily solved with the introduction of affordable price tags. The latter is an incurable problem, because sales of more reasonably priced BYD and Omoda cars are both up by around 500 per cent year on year, and Jaecoo is growing at an even more dramatic rate. 

The entirely foreign-owned mainstream motor industry in Britain is hanging on in there with Nissan taking over from Jaguar Land Rover as the UK’s number one car maker, while Toyota and BMW-MINI are the only other mass-producers in a Blighty that can ill afford to lose any more factories. Latest figures reveal that UK sales for JLR, Nissan and Toyota are down this year. Conversely, demand for products from Renault, Skoda, Peugeot, Alfa and Cupra, plus others based in mainland Europe, is on the up.

And it’s Renault (or the Renault Group) that has impressed me most of late. Deliveries of its much-loved, all-electric Renault 5 and R4 have started in earnest, while Dacia’s little Spring EV and large Bigster, with petrol or hybrid power, are also doing well. All are award-winning and bargain-priced. And collectively, this quartet costs about the same as one Hyundai Ioniq 9 or Kia EV9. What’s more, the all-new, longer, prettier, more fuel-efficient pure-petrol or hybrid Renault Clio will start at £20,000 (possibly even a tad less) when it arrives in 2027. Or maybe the next-gen Twingo will better suit your driving needs and spending power. Or an even cheaper, prettier Dacia Hipster, perhaps? 

Either way, the Renault Group is giving buyers what they want – sensibly priced cars of the pure petrol, part petrol or 100 per cent electric variety. The R5 has topped the UK’s EV sales charts on multiple occasions throughout 2025. The more spacious R4 costs just £2,000 more. Unbelievably good value. 

Renault is second in Europe’s hybrid sales charts. Better still, the modest Dacia Sandero was the best-selling car in Europe last year, with the (now outgoing) Renault Clio at No.2 and the Dacia Duster in the Top 10, too. 

2As for its pricier Alpine models, there’s a refreshing admission from one senior exec that “they’re not for everyone, but that’s OK”. In this “world of excess” there are too many “giant price tags” is another honest claim from within the Renault Group. It’s my Car Company of the Year for 2025. And then some.

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