UK April 2026: Market up 24% on low year-ago volumes, Omoda 5 breaks into Top 10
First UK Top 10 finish for the Omoda 5.
UK new car sales in April soar 24% year-on-year to 149,247 units, however year-ago volumes were particularly weak as buyers pulled purchases forward to March to beat incoming vehicle tax increases. The year-to-date tally is now up by a robust 9% to 764,101 and local association of manufacturers SMMT now predicts a Full Year 2026 tally at 2,093,000 units, up 3.6% on 2025. Private sales improve 20.2% to 56,116 units and 37.6% share vs. 38.8% a year ago while fleets are up 26.8% to 90,462 and 60.6% share vs. 59.3% and business sales are up 15% to 2,669 and 1.8% share vs. 1.9%. Year-to-date, this time private sales fare better at +11.7% to 306,211 and 40.1% share vs. 39.1% over the same period in 2025, fleet sales are up 6.9% to 441,094 and 57.7% share vs. 58.9% and business sales are up 19.3% to 16,796 and 2.2% share vs. 2%.
Looking at sales by fuel type, BEVs surge 59.1% to 39,084 and 26.2% share vs. 20.4% in April 2025. SMMT noted that April marked the registration of the 2 millionth BEV in the UK. Meanwhile HEVs are up 18.8% to 19,711 and 13.2% share vs. 13.8% a year ago, PHEVs are up 46.4% to 20,597 and 13.8% share vs. 11.7%, petrol is up 8.2% to 63,541 and 42.6% share vs. 48.8% and diesel down -1% to 6,314 and 4.2% share vs. 5.3%. Year-to-date, BEVs are up 22.1% to 176,698 and 23.1% share vs. 20.7% over the first 4 moths of 2025, HEVs are up 8.3% to 111,083 and 14.5% share vs. 14.6%, PHEVs are up 46.5% to 99,263 and 13% share vs. 9.7% while petrol is down -1.5% to 340,230 and 44.5% share vs. 49.3% and diesel falls -8.4% to 36,827 and 4.8% share vs. 5.7%.
Volkswagen (+23%) follows the market to keep a comfortable distance with the other carmakers present at 8.6% share vs. 6% for #2 Kia (+7.2%). BMW (+7.6%) completes the podium as it does YTD. In fact the Top 5 is identical to YTD with Ford (+17.5%) at #4 and Audi (+0.9%) at #5. MG (+84.9%) surges ahead to #6 with 4.7% share, distancing Mercedes (+30.1%) and Skoda (+13.9%). BYD (+101.5%) delivers the biggest YoY gain in the Top 15 at #12 with Jaecoo (+268.2%), Omoda (+259.9%), Citroen (+167%) and Mini (+90%) also impressive.
Model-wise, the Ford Puma (+27.2%) reclaims the top spot it holds year-to-date with 2.8% share, ahead of the Kia Sportage (+3.7%). The Nissan Qashqai (+29.5%) stays at #3 ahead of two surging models: the VW Golf (+77.9%) scoring its best ranking since last October at #4 and the Mini Cooper (+58.7%) at #5. We have a new entrant in the Top 10: #1 in London over the Full Year 2025, the Omoda 5 lands directly in 6th place with 1.5% share. The VW Tiguan (+46.6%) and MG HS (+67.9%) also impress below. Surprise #1 in March, the Jaecoo 7 falls to #10 and #3 year-to-date.
Previous month: UK March 2026: Jaecoo 7 overall best-seller!
One year ago: UK April 2025: Peugeot (+37.9%), BYD (+654.1%) stand out in market down -10.4%
Full March 2026 Top 53 All brands and Top 10 models below.
UK March 2026 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | Apr-26 | % | /25 | Mar | 2026 | % | /25 | Pos | FY25 |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 12,884 | 8.6% | + 23.0% | 1 | 59,878 | 7.8% | – 5.9% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kia | 8,922 | 6.0% | + 7.2% | 3 | 43,538 | 5.7% | + 0.4% | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | BMW | 8,700 | 5.8% | + 7.6% | 2 | 42,607 | 5.6% | – 2.4% | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Ford | 8,230 | 5.5% | + 17.5% | 4 | 41,004 | 5.4% | – 1.7% | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | Audi | 8,090 | 5.4% | + 0.9% | 5 | 38,133 | 5.0% | + 6.4% | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | MG | 7,005 | 4.7% | + 84.9% | 10 | 30,883 | 4.0% | + 8.6% | 8 | 10 |
| 7 | Mercedes | 6,989 | 4.7% | + 30.1% | 7 | 35,285 | 4.6% | + 7.6% | 6 | 9 |
| 8 | Skoda | 6,244 | 4.2% | + 13.9% | 14 | 30,675 | 4.0% | + 9.3% | 9 | 11 |
| 9 | Hyundai | 6,077 | 4.1% | – 6.9% | 13 | 30,278 | 4.0% | – 3.6% | 11 | 6 |
| 10 | Vauxhall | 5,889 | 3.9% | + 14.1% | 8 | 33,729 | 4.4% | + 3.7% | 7 | 13 |
| 11 | Peugeot | 5,368 | 3.6% | – 9.2% | 12 | 30,196 | 4.0% | – 12.3% | 12 | 12 |
| 12 | BYD | 5,059 | 3.4% | + 101.5% | 11 | 26,396 | 3.5% | + 124.0% | 14 | 17 |
| 13 | Volvo | 4,992 | 3.3% | + 18.0% | 16 | 24,117 | 3.2% | + 4.0% | 16 | 14 |
| 14 | Toyota | 4,981 | 3.3% | – 6.0% | 6 | 30,389 | 4.0% | – 3.4% | 10 | 7 |
| 15 | Renault | 4,801 | 3.2% | + 9.9% | 18 | 23,645 | 3.1% | + 7.2% | 17 | 15 |
| 16 | Mini | 4,774 | 3.2% | + 90.0% | 20 | 18,814 | 2.5% | + 20.9% | 19 | 18 |
| 17 | Nissan | 4,079 | 2.7% | – 16.7% | 9 | 28,389 | 3.7% | – 13.3% | 13 | 8 |
| 18 | Jaecoo | 3,877 | 2.6% | + 268.2% | 17 | 22,789 | 3.0% | + 431.5% | 18 | 23 |
| 19 | Land Rover | 3,834 | 2.6% | + 1.2% | 15 | 25,313 | 3.3% | + 1.5% | 15 | 16 |
| 20 | Cupra | 3,372 | 2.3% | + 52.9% | 21 | 15,171 | 2.0% | + 24.0% | 20 | 20 |
| 21 | Omoda | 3,275 | 2.2% | + 259.9% | 23 | 12,324 | 1.6% | + 200.3% | 22 | 27 |
| 22 | Chery | 2,900 | 1.9% | new | 28 | 10,977 | 1.4% | new | 25 | 34 |
| 23 | Citroen | 2,558 | 1.7% | + 167.0% | 26 | 12,142 | 1.6% | + 127.1% | 23 | 26 |
| 24 | Dacia | 1,798 | 1.2% | – 9.1% | 27 | 10,250 | 1.3% | – 8.8% | 26 | 22 |
| 25 | Geely | 1,649 | 1.1% | new | 35 | 3,244 | 0.4% | new | 35 | 47 |
| 26 | Porsche | 1,560 | 1.0% | + 27.3% | 31 | 6,041 | 0.8% | – 7.9% | 29 | 28 |
| 27 | Suzuki | 1,321 | 0.9% | + 30.1% | 24 | 9,909 | 1.3% | + 42.8% | 27 | 29 |
| 28 | Lexus | 1,159 | 0.8% | + 11.1% | 32 | 5,223 | 0.7% | – 4.1% | 32 | 31 |
| 29 | Honda | 1,155 | 0.8% | – 4.2% | 25 | 8,506 | 1.1% | – 15.8% | 28 | 24 |
| 30 | Mazda | 1,126 | 0.8% | – 26.9% | 22 | 11,669 | 1.5% | – 6.9% | 24 | 21 |
| 31 | Polestar | 1,076 | 0.7% | + 25.3% | 33 | 5,227 | 0.7% | + 14.8% | 31 | 30 |
| 32 | Jeep | 838 | 0.6% | + 2.8% | 30 | 4,609 | 0.6% | – 5.9% | 33 | 32 |
| 33 | Tesla | 831 | 0.6% | + 62.3% | 19 | 12,570 | 1.6% | – 3.2% | 21 | 19 |
| 34 | Seat | 790 | 0.5% | – 57.1% | 29 | 5,620 | 0.7% | – 36.1% | 30 | 25 |
| 35 | Fiat | 708 | 0.5% | + 145.0% | 36 | 2,320 | 0.3% | – 46.9% | 36 | 33 |
| 36 | Leapmotor | 580 | 0.4% | + 437.0% | 34 | 3,676 | 0.5% | + 1121.3% | 34 | 35 |
| 37 | Alpine | 373 | 0.2% | + 554.4% | 38 | 1,085 | 0.1% | + 996.0% | 37 | 39 |
| 38 | Changan | 216 | 0.1% | new | 37 | 969 | 0.1% | new | 38 | 49 |
| 39 | Alfa Romeo | 210 | 0.1% | + 0.5% | 40 | 949 | 0.1% | – 0.1% | 39 | 36 |
| 40 | Smart | 157 | 0.1% | + 124.3% | 39 | 740 | 0.1% | + 32.9% | 40 | 38 |
| 41 | KGM | 93 | 0.1% | + 29.2% | 43 | 671 | 0.1% | + 14.7% | 42 | 41 |
| 42 | Xpeng | 88 | 0.1% | + 877.8% | 42 | 441 | 0.1% | + 880.0% | 43 | 45 |
| 43 | Genesis | 71 | 0.0% | + 73.2% | 45 | 363 | 0.0% | – 21.1% | 44 | 42 |
| 44 | Lotus | 64 | 0.0% | + 45.5% | 44 | 299 | 0.0% | – 56.5% | 45 | n/a |
| 45 | Subaru | 52 | 0.0% | – 42.9% | 41 | 709 | 0.1% | – 22.6% | 41 | 37 |
| 46 | Abarth | 38 | 0.0% | + 52.0% | 49 | 129 | 0.0% | – 18.9% | 47 | 50 |
| 47 | Maserati | 32 | 0.0% | + 166.7% | 47 | 136 | 0.0% | + 19.3% | 46 | 48 |
| 48 | Ineos | 18 | 0.0% | – 18.2% | 48 | 101 | 0.0% | + 31.2% | 49 | 51 |
| 49 | GWM Ora | 16 | 0.0% | – 57.9% | 46 | 125 | 0.0% | + 0.8% | 48 | 46 |
| 50 | DS | 13 | 0.0% | – 59.4% | 50 | 59 | 0.0% | – 74.3% | 50 | 43 |
| 51 | Chevrolet | 12 | 0.0% | + 200.0% | 51 | 22 | 0.0% | – 29.0% | 51 | 52 |
| 52 | Skywell | 4 | 0.0% | + 100.0% | 52 | 19 | 0.0% | + 111.1% | 52 | 54 |
| 53 | Jaguar | 0 | 0.0% | n/a | – | 7 | 0.0% | – 99.6% | 53 | 40 |
| – | Other British | 201 | 0.1% | + 47.8% | – | 1,105 | 0.1% | – 16.8% | – | – |
| – | Other Imports | 98 | 0.1% | – 21.6% | – | 446 | 0.1% | – 39.0% | – | – |
UK April 2026 – models:
| Pos | Model | Apr-26 | % | /25 | Mar | 2026 | % | /25 | Pos | FY25 |
| 1 | Ford Puma | 4,211 | 2.8% | + 27.2% | 2 | 20,339 | 2.7% | + 11.5% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kia Sportage | 3,645 | 2.4% | + 3.7% | 4 | 17,835 | 2.3% | + 8.9% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Nissan Qashqai | 2,846 | 1.9% | + 29.5% | 3 | 15,699 | 2.1% | + 12.2% | 4 | 3 |
| 4 | VW Golf | 2,845 | 1.9% | + 77.9% | 8 | 12,021 | 1.6% | – 2.6% | 6 | 6 |
| 5 | Mini Cooper | 2,577 | 1.7% | + 58.7% | n/a | 10,686 | 1.4% | n/a | 9 | 12 |
| 6 | Omoda 5 | 2,308 | 1.5% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 29 |
| 7 | Vauxhall Corsa | 2,236 | 1.5% | – 5.9% | 5 | 12,788 | 1.7% | – 7.7% | 5 | 4 |
| 8 | VW Tiguan | 2,234 | 1.5% | + 46.6% | n/a | 10,252 | 1.3% | – 3.9% | 10 | 9 |
| 9 | MG HS | 2,146 | 1.4% | + 67.9% | 7 | 11,293 | 1.5% | + 2.5% | 8 | 8 |
| 10 | Jaecoo 7 | 2,099 | 1.4% | n/a | 1 | 17,668 | 2.3% | #DIV/0! | 3 | 13 |
| n/a | Volvo XC40 | 2,072 | 1.4% | + 3.2% | 6 | 11,360 | 1.5% | + 7.0% | 7 | 7 |
Source: SMMT
