What is the most popular car brand in the UK?

There were over 1.5 million new passenger cars registered in the UK in 2020 compared to 2.31 million in 2019. Despite numbers being much lower than normal due to the pandemic, some brands were clearly more popular than others. Which were the top best-selling brands in 2020?

New passenger cars registered per year

In the past 15 years the number of new car registrations has never dropped below 1.9 million. The exception was the first year of Covid-19, in which buyers hesitated to make new purchases and many car dealers had to remain closed. In 2016 registrations reached a high point with 2.69 million, while in 2020 there were 1.63 million new cars registered. The cars that were still purchased during the pandemic are likely to be the most popular car brands in the UK.

New car purchases massively down in 2020

There were several reasons for the low number of new cars that were purchased in 2020. One of the reasons was that many people chose not to spend their savings during the coronavirus and that it was nearly impossible to drive during the lockdowns.

Another important factor was that driving schools were forced to suspend driving tests. They were allowed to reopen only months later, in July. Then the second and third lockdown led to another suspension and tests resumed in April. Those interested in driving had to wait, but because of the high demand, they may now have to wait even longer. Some estimate that there could be delays of more than 15 weeks in some cases before learners can take a driving test.

Most popular new cars registered by brand

So which brands were the most popular in 2020? Here are the top five car brands according to the data by Statista which looked at the number of new cars that were registered in the first year of the coronavirus.

1. Ford – 152k new cars registered in the UK. Buyers especially preferred the Ford Fiesta (49k vehicles), Ford Focus (39k) and Ford Puma (26k).
2. VW – 148k new registrations, including electric vehicles like Volkswagen ID.
3. BMW – 115k; BMWs were also popular during 2020, especially the BMW X1, BMW 1 Series and BMW 3 Series.
4. Mercedes-Benz – 110k new Mercedes-Benz registrations. Especially the GLE and GLS were in demand.
5. Audi – 107k new Audis registered, including popular models like the Audi A3 and the global top seller Audi e-tron. Even the iconic R8 made a comeback.

Several other popular brands also made the top 10 list. Vauxhall (95k), Toyota (91k), Nissan (71k), Kia (70k), and Skoda (58k) all enjoyed high customer demand.