The Vauxhall Frontera ends May in 9th place.

New car sales in the UK gain 7.1% year-on-year in May to 160,662 units, the best May result since pre-pandemic 2019 but still -12.6% below the level of 7 years ago. The year-to-date volume after 5 months is up 8.7% to 924,763. Encouragingly, private sales are up 17.2% to 65,781 and 40.9% share vs. 37.4% a year ago while fleet sales are up just 1.8% to 91,765 and 57.1% share vs. 60% in May 2025. Business sales drop -18.8% to 3,116 and 1.9% share vs. 2.6%. In terms of power source, BEVs surge 34.2% to 43,931 and 27.3% share vs. 21.8% a year ago, PHEVs are up 23.9% to 22,167 and 13.8% share vs. 11.9%, HEVs edge up 1.8% to 20,719 and 12.9% share vs. 13.6%, petrol is down -7.1% to 66,223 and 41.2% share vs. 47.5% and diesel skids -2.2% to 7,622 and 4.7% share vs. 5.2%.

Looking at the brands ranking, Volkswagen (+4%) easily stays on top at 8.8% share, significantly above the 8% it holds year-to-date. Audi (+12.4%) leapfrogs past Kia (+4.4%), BMW (-8.8%) and Ford (-18.6%) to land in 2nd place, a ranking it last held in November. Vauxhall (+9.4%) delivers a rare strong month and climbs back up five spots on April to #5. MG (+12.6%) is also strong at #6 and 4.6% share. Hyundai (-16.3%) and Skoda (-10.9%) are hit hard below. Further down, Jaecoo (+210.1%) is up five ranks on last month to #13, a new ranking record for the brand eclipsing the #17 of last March. BYD (+70.5%) is also on fire at #14 while Mini (+78.7%) does even better at #15. Omoda (+84.6%), Citroen (+60.1%) and Tesla (+45.5%) make themselves noticed.

Model-wise, the Ford Puma (+8.8%) and Kia Sportage (+5.6%) are in the lead again while the Vauxhall Corsa (+14.2%) is up four ranks on last month to #3, the nameplate’s first podium finish since April 2025. Surprise leader in March, the Jaecoo 7 is back up six spots to #4 and remains at #3 year-to-date. The Nissan Qashqai (-7.4%) is in difficulty and rounds out the Top 5. The VW Golf (+42.5%), Mini Cooper (+25.3%) and VW Tiguan (+21.6%) are all in outstanding shape below. Finally, the Vauxhall Frontera breaks into the UK Top 10 for the very first time at #9 with 1.5% share.

Previous month: UK April 2026: Market up 24% on low year-ago volumes, Omoda 5 breaks into Top 10

One year ago: UK May 2025: Stable market (+1.6%), Hyundai Kona hits record ranking

Full May 2026 Top 55 All brands and Top 10 models below.

UK May 2026 – brands:

PosBrandMay-26%/25Apr2026%/25PosFY251Volkswagen14,1108.8%+ 4.0%173,9888.0%– 4.2%112Audi  9,0985.7%+ 12.4%547,2315.1%+ 7.6%553Kia8,9555.6%+ 4.4%252,4935.7%+ 1.0%244BMW  8,5035.3%– 8.8%351,1105.5%– 3.5%325Vauxhall  7,6754.8%+ 9.4%1041,4044.5%+ 4.7%7136MG7,4634.6%+ 12.6%638,3464.1%+ 9.4%8107Ford  6,9114.3%– 18.6%447,9155.2%– 4.5%438Skoda6,6214.1%– 10.9%837,2964.0%+ 5.1%9119Mercedes  6,5524.1%– 7.5%741,8374.5%+ 4.9%6910Toyota6,1873.9%– 4.5%1436,5764.0%– 3.6%10711Hyundai6,0773.8%– 16.3%936,3553.9%– 6.0%11612Renault5,6463.5%+ 8.2%1529,2913.2%+ 7.4%161513Jaecoo5,2073.2%+ 210.1%1827,9963.0%+ 369.2%182314BYD5,1573.2%+ 70.5%1231,5533.4%+ 113.1%141715Mini5,1513.2%+ 78.7%1623,9652.6%+ 29.9%191816Peugeot  5,1143.2%– 16.9%1135,3103.8%– 13.0%121217Land Rover4,9343.1%+ 6.3%1930,2473.3%+ 2.3%151618Volvo4,9183.1%– 0.3%1329,0353.1%+ 3.2%171419Nissan  4,8323.0%– 29.8%1733,2213.6%– 16.2%13820Cupra3,4842.2%+ 14.7%2018,6552.0%+ 22.1%202021Chery3,1662.0%new2214,1431.5%new243422Tesla2,9341.8%+ 45.5%3315,5041.7%+ 3.3%211923Omoda2,7541.7%+ 84.6%2115,0781.6%+ 169.4%222724Citroen2,0841.3%+ 60.1%2314,2261.5%+ 114.0%232625Dacia2,0481.3%– 5.1%2412,2981.3%– 8.2%262226Suzuki1,6561.0%+ 45.0%2711,5651.3%+ 43.1%272927Porsche1,5391.0%+ 10.9%267,5800.8%– 4.6%292828Seat1,4120.9%– 23.6%347,0320.8%– 33.9%302529Polestar1,3050.8%+ 11.2%316,5320.7%+ 14.0%313030Mazda1,2760.8%– 51.7%3012,9451.4%– 14.7%252131Honda1,2410.8%– 13.5%299,7471.1%– 15.6%282432Lexus1,1770.7%– 21.3%286,4000.7%– 7.8%323133Geely1,1340.7%new254,3780.5%new354734Leapmotor9440.6%+ 863.3%364,6200.5%+ 1057.9%343535Jeep6850.4%– 36.7%325,2940.6%– 11.5%333236Fiat6060.4%– 39.8%352,9260.3%– 45.6%363337Alpine3680.2%+ 843.6%371,4530.2%+ 952.9%373938Alfa Romeo2900.2%+ 82.4%391,2390.1%+ 11.7%393639Changan2870.2%new381,2560.1%new384940Smart1650.1%+ 75.5%409050.1%+ 39.0%403841Genesis1160.1%– 31.4%434790.1%– 23.8%444242Lotus850.1%+ 51.8%443840.0%– 48.4%45n/a43Xpeng810.1%+ 1250.0%425220.1%+ 923.5%434544Subaru700.0%– 39.7%457790.1%– 24.5%413745Abarth690.0%+ 176.0%461980.0%+ 7.6%465046KGM630.0%– 37.6%417340.1%+ 7.0%424147Maserati550.0%+ 129.2%471910.0%+ 38.4%474848Aion310.0%new –310.0%new51 –49Ineos160.0%– 44.8%481170.0%+ 10.4%495150GWM Ora120.0%– 63.6%491370.0%– 12.7%484651Mitsubishi120.0%n/a –120.0%n/a5452DS90.0%– 93.6%50680.0%– 81.7%504353Chevrolet80.0%n/a51300.0%– 3.2%525254Skywell70.0%n/a52260.0%+ 188.9%535454Maxus20.0%– 33.3% –20.0%– 94.3%555355Jaguar00.0%n/a –70.0%– 99.6%5440 –Other British2100.1%+ 10.5% –1,3150.1%– 13.4% – – –Other Imports1500.1%– 7.4% –5960.1%– 33.3% – –

UK May 2026 – models:

PosModelMay-26%/25Apr2026%/25PosFY251Ford Puma4,0192.5%+ 8.8%124,3582.6%+ 11.0%112Kia Sportage3,4392.1%+ 5.6%221,2742.3%+ 8.3%223Vauxhall Corsa3,0751.9%+ 14.2%715,8631.7%– 4.1%544Jaecoo 73,0271.9%n/a1020,6952.2%n/a3135Nissan Qashqai2,8591.8%– 7.4%318,5582.0%+ 8.7%436VW Golf2,6371.6%+ 42.5%414,6581.6%+ 3.2%667Mini Cooper2,6051.6%+ 25.3%513,2911.4%n/a9128VW Tiguan2,3951.5%+ 21.6%812,6471.4%+ 0.1%1099Vauxhall Frontera2,3721.5%n/an/an/an/an/an/a12810Hyundai Tucson2,1941.4%n/an/an/an/an/an/a10n/aMG HS2,1821.4%+ 42.4%913,4751.5%+ 7.4%88n/aVolvo XC402,1181.3%+ 6.2%n/a13,4781.5%+ 6.9%77

Source: SMMT