Classic car owners will probably find it interesting to hear that the number of new cars registered here in the UK in January 2026 went up in comparison to January last year. After all, quite a lot of classic car enthusiasts also own a standard car for everyday use.
Every month, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) publish figures relating to the number of new cars registered in the UK. In January 2026, the number of new cars sold in the UK totalled 144,127. In January 2025 the figure was 139,345. That is a rise of 3.4%. Presumably these figures will please some people in the motor trade industry.
It is interesting that the number of new cars sold fuelled by petrol in January 2026 was 68,757 compared to 70,075 in the same month last year – a drop of 1.9%. The number of new cars sold fuelled by diesel in January 2026 amounted to 7,862 compared to 8,625 in January 2025.
BEV new car sales in January 2026 totalled 29,654 compared to 29,634 in January 2025 – a small increase of 0.1%.
The top 10 selling new cars in January 2026 in the UK were: –
- KIA Sportage 4,675
- Jaecoo 7 4,059
- Ford Puma 3,715
- Nissan Qashqai 2,995
- Vauxhall Corsa 2,902
- BYD Seal U 2,550
- Nissan Juke 2,517
- Volkswagen Tiguan 2,425
- Volkswagen Golf 2,072
- MG HS 2.035
It is to be hoped that the number of new cars registered in the UK continues to go up during the rest of 2026. There are an awful lot of people employed in car sales and other areas of the car industry.
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