Car sales statistics 2024 – UK & worldwide

Key Statistics

• The UK's new-vehicle market is the seventh-largest in the world. 
• In 2023, 1.903 million new cars were sold in the UK.
• Electric vehicles accounted for around 18% of total new car sales globally in 2023.
• China registered 30,094,767 new vehicles in 2023, which makes it the largest market in terms of global sales. The USA is the second-largest new car market (15,604,278 cars sold in 2023), followed by Japan (4,779,639), India (4,108,263) and Germany (2,845,764).
• The Covid-19 pandemic saw the USA experience one of the largest declines in new vehicle sales on record in 2020, with a year-on-year fall of 2.5 million vehicles. 
• Toyota sells the most cars worldwide. In 2023, Toyota sold 10,307,395 million new vehicles globally. 
• The Ford Puma is the UK's favourite new car, with 49,591 sales in 2023 . 
• Volkswagen is Britain’s top-selling car brand, with 162,087 new sales in 2023.
• Ford is the most popular brand in the UK for used cars, with an 11.92% share of used car sales in 2021, closely followed by Vauxhall (10%) and Volkswagen (8.80%). 
• Grey is the UK's most popular car colour, followed by black and white.
• More than one in 10 new cars were electric in the UK in 2022.
• Only 5.1% of new passenger cars were diesel in the UK in 2022.

2024 Car Sales - Global Overview So Far 

China is the largest car market in the world, averaging around 25 million new car sales every year. The United States and Japan are the next biggest markets.

New and used car sales in 2024 so far

• 851,690 new vehicles have been registered in Europe as of January 2024 — 12.1% higher than the previous month which saw 760,016 new car registrations.
• 10.9% of the 851,690 new vehicles registered so far in 2024 are electric vehicles.
• Overall demand for petrol-powered vehicles has declined across Europe, from 37.9% in 2023 to 35.20% so far in 2024. 
• However, as of January 2024, the demand for petrol-powered cars increased in key markets such as Italy (26.7%) and Germany (16.9%).
• So far in 2024, sales of diesel-powered vehicles in the EU dropped from 15.8% to 13.4% compared to the same period in 2023.
• At 3,034,167 vehicles sold in 2023, Japan was the third-highest passenger car market in the world.

Car Sales in 2023 – Global Overview

China was the largest global market for passenger cars in 2023, with over 30 million new vehicles sold in the country. The USA had the second-highest figure for new cars sold, followed by Japan, India and Germany. The UK was the seventh-largest market for new vehicles in 2023.

New Car Sales Statistics in 2023

• The German market had the highest growth in new car registrations at 19.1%. In contrast, Italy's new car registrations grew by 10.6%, France’s +9.2%, and Spain’s +7.3%.
• Total number of vehicles sold in the United States reached 15,278,087 units in 2023.
• China was the #1 car production country in the world, hitting a total of 30,126,000 vehicles in 2023.
• Demand for electric cars for sale has exploded, with a 99.9% increase in sales and now accounting for 1.8% of the market. 
•  China is the largest global market for passenger cars, buying around 25 million new cars every year. 
• The USA has the second-highest figure for new cars sold, followed by Japan, Germany and India. 
• China’s EV sales expanded by 38% to 9.49 million units in 2023, accounting for 31% of its market share.
• BEV sales grew 50% in the U.S. and Canada, 27% in Europe and 15% in China in 2023.
• Out of the 13.6 million EVs sold around the world in 2023, 9.5 million units were fully electric or battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with PHEVs accounting for the rest.
• The sales share of PHEVs in Germany fell from 13.7% in 2022 to 6.2% in 2023. In the same year, the HEV sales percentage grew from 17.5% of total sales in 2022 to 23.4% in 2023; and BEV stood at 18.4% from 17.7% in 2022.
• The sales percentage of diesel-powered cars dropped the most in France, from 15.6% in 2022 to 9.7% in 2023. BEVs, PHEVs, and HEVs accounted for 16.8% (13.3% in 2022), 9.2% (8.3% in 2022), and 24.4% (21.8% in 2022) of total sales respectively.
• The market share of PHEVs in China jumped from 8% in 2022 to 12% in 2023. BEVs accounted for 25% of the market share (about 5.3 million vehicles) from 22% in 2022.
• Over 70% of China’s car exports in 2023 were petrol-powered vehicles with Russia being the top importer of ICE vehicles from China.

Used Car Sales in 2023

The UK's used car market suffered during the pandemic. In 2020, the used car market fell by 15% on the year before with 6.7 million cars sold. In 2021 it fared better, growing by 11.5% compared to 2020, with 7.5 million cars sold. However, 2021 performance was still 5.5% below the pre-pandemic five-year average, while 2022 fell by 8.5% with 6,890,777 units changing hands as supply was still restricted. 

In 2023 used car sales grew by 4.1% in Q1 compared to Q1 2022, with Q2 seeing another 4.1% growth compared to the same time last year. Q3 saw a 5.5% growth on the the same quarter in 2022. Demand for electric cars for sale has exploded, with a 99.9% increase in sales and now accounting for 1.8% of the market. 

• In 2023 used car sales grew by 4.1% in Q1 compared to Q1 2022, with Q2 seeing another 4.1% growth compared to the same time last year.  Q3 saw a 5.5% growth on the same quarter in 2022. 
• In the UK, used car transactions grew 5.1% in 2023 — a total of 7,242,692 vehicles were re-registered. 
• Out of the 7,242,692 vehicles re-registered in the UK in 2023, only 1.6% (118,973 cars) were battery electric vehicles.
• In 2023, the top 3 used-car colours in the UK were black (1,549,954), grey (1,234,314), and blue (1,181,741).

How many used cars are sold each year?

In 2023, 7,242,692 used cars were sold in the UK - a 5.1% year-on-year increase. The South East accounted for the highest number of transactions, with 1,084, 799 cars changing hands. 

In Q1 2024, 1,967,923 used cars have been sold in the UK.

UK Car Sales Statistics 

The UK's used car market hit a 5 year high in Q1 2024, with almost 2 million units sold. It's also the 5th quarter of successive growth, with the used car market growing by 6.5% - the strongest start to a year since 2019 (before the pandemic).

• The Ford Puma was the UK's most popular car in 2023, with 49,591 registrations. Second was the Nissan Qashqai with 43,321 registrations followed by the Vauxhall Corsa with 40,816 units sold. 
• The Tesla Model Y is the best-selling EV in the UK having notched up 30,032 sales in 2023. Second was the MG4 with 18,658 units sold while the Audi Q4 E-TRON came third with 15,449 registrations.
•  In 2014, diesel accounted for 50% of all new passenger car sales in the UK. However, by 2022, only 5% of new passenger cars were diesel. 
• In contrast, petrol has retained much of its market share of the passenger car market. In 2014, 47.8% of all new cars used petrol. By the end of 2022 this figure was at 42.3%, despite the introduction of hybrid and electric cars.

What are the most popular cars in the UK?

These are the latest UK car sales figures by model (as of May 2024):

1. Ford Puma (23,205)
2. Kia Sportage (20,206)
3. Nissan Qashqai (19,687)
4. Audi A3 (16,520)
5. Volkswagen Golf (15,573)
6. Nissan Juke (15,538)
7. BMW 1 Series (14,190)
8. MG HS (14,161)
9. Volkswagen T-Roc (13,323)
10. Vauxhall Corsa (12,925)

Electric and Hybrid Cars Sales Statistics

• In 2014, just 2.2% of all new passenger cars were electric. This figure has grown to 16.6% in 2022 and sales of new electric cars will increase as the UK approaches the extended 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel car sales. 
• In 2023, 16.5% of new passenger cars sold in the UK were fully electric cars (BEVs) — PHEVs and HEVs were 7.4% and 12.6% respectively.
• Plug-in hybrid and self-charging hybrid cars had a respective 2022 market share of 6.3% and 11.6% in the UK. 
• Mild hybrid electric petrol cars accounted for 13.6% market share in 2022 while mild hybrid diesel cars made up 4.5% of the market. As a result, UK average new car CO2 fell 6.9% to 111.4g/km - the lowest in history.
• Electric vehicles and hybrids accounted for more than 16% of total 2023 U.S. light-duty vehicle sales.
• 1,189,051 electric vehicles were sold in the United States in 2023 — the first time the figure has surpassed a million.
• In 2023, sales of hybrid-electric cars surged by 29.5% in the EU, resulting in over 2.7 million units sold.
• Germany (+38%), France (+32%), and Spain (+24.3%) led the way for hybrid-electric car registrations in the EU in 2023.
• In China, electric and hybrid-electric vehicles accounted for 36% of new car sales in 2023.
• The combined sales of battery electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the US rose to 16.3% of total new light-duty vehicle sales in 2023.
• In Japan, hybrid cars made up the largest share (55%) of the 2,651,397 vehicles sold in 2023.
• Out of the 2,844,609 new vehicles registered in Germany, only 176,000 were plug-in hybrids.
• It's estimated that around 17 million electric cars will be sold globally in 2024 - 10.1 million will be sold in China alone.

What percentage of new car sales are electric?

The market share for BEVs hit an all-time high of 16.5% in 2023 — PHEVs accounted for 7.4% of all cars registered. This brings the total market share for plug-in vehicles to 23.9% and reflects a growing demand for EVs as well as lesser demand for ICE cars (particularly diesel models).

The best-selling cars in the UK 2023

The Ford Puma is the best selling car in the UK so far in 2023 (up to the end of November), proving that while SUVs may seem all encompassing, small hatchbacks are still in demand.

1. Ford Puma (46,434)
2. Nissan Qashqai (39,068)
3. Vauxhall Corsa (37,826)
4. Kia Sportage (34,620)
5. Hyundai Tucson (32,301)
6. Tesla Model Y (31,083)
7. MINI (29,777)
8. Nissan Juke (29,272)
9. Vauxhall Mokka (28,390)
10. Audi A3 (28,178)

The best-selling cars in the UK 2022

The Nissan Qashqai was the UK's best-selling car in 2022, with 42,704 sales. That's 6794 more than the next best-selling car, the Vauxhall Corsa, which topped the charts in 2021. 

1. Nissan Qashqai (42,704)
2. Vauxhall Corsa (35,910)
3. Tesla Model Y (35,551)
4. Ford Puma (35,008)
5. MINI Hatch (32,387)
6. Kia Sportage (29,655)
7. Hyundai Tucson (27,839)
8. Volkswagen Golf (26,558)
9. Ford Kuga (26,549)
10. Ford Fiesta (25,070)

The best-selling cars in the UK 2021

The Ford Fiesta normally tops the list of the best-selling cars in the UK but in 2021 it was the turn of the Vauxhall Corsa, which sold more than 40,000 units in a market hit by the global semi-conductor shortage and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 

1. Vauxhall Corsa (40,914)
2. Tesla Model 3 (34,783)
3. MINI Hatch (31,792)
4. Mercedes-Benz A-Class (30,710)
5. Volkswagen Polo (30,634)
6. Volkswagen Golf (30,240)
7. Nissan Qashqai (29,922)
8. Ford Puma (28,697)
9. Kia Sportage (27,611)
10. Toyota Yaris (27,415) 

US Car Sale Statistics

• The USA experienced one of the biggest declines in new vehicle sales in 2020, with a year-on-year fall of 2.5 million vehicles.

What percentage of US car sales are electric?

2023 was the first time EV sales surpassed 1 million units for a single year in the U.S. New car shoppers bought 1.2 million electric cars which puts the EV share of U.S. new car sales in 2023 at 7.6% — an increase of 5.9% from 2022.

China Car Sale Statistics

• China is the largest new car market in the world, with 25.5 million annual vehicle sales. 
• In 2023, Electric and hybrid-electric vehicles accounted for 36% of new car sales in China.
• Asia was BMW’s biggest market, with 1,070,142 vehicles sold in 2023 — China alone accounted for 824,932 sales.
• Tesla sold 603,304 EVs in China in 2023. The automaker faced stiff opposition from China’s BYD which sold 1,262,065 BEVs.

Germany Car Sales Statistics

• 2,844,609 new cars were registered in Germany in 2023 — 7.3% higher than 2022’s sales of 2,651,357 units.
• 34.4% of new cars registered in Germany were petrol vehicles.
• Sales of fully electric cars in Germany grew from 17.7% (2022) to 18.4% (2023).
• From 17.8% in 2022, sales of diesel-powered vehicles shrunk to 17.1%  in 2023.

Australia Car Sales Statistics

New Car Sales Statistics in Australia

• 1,216,780 vehicles were delivered in 2023, setting a new all-time high — 2017 held the previous highest sales record of 1,189,116 vehicles.
• Toyota was the top-selling car brand in 2023 with 17.7% of the market. They sold 215,240 vehicles.
• In 2023, the number of fully electric cars (EV) registered was 87,217 representing 7.2% of all car sales.
• 588,622 new cars in Australia were petrol-powered, which represents 48.4% of total car sales
• 2,074,535 used cars were sold in Australia in 2023 — for every new car sold, 1.7 used cars were sold.

Canada Car Sales Statistics

• 253,322 new passenger cars were registered in Canada in 2023 — in 2022, that number was 272,408 vehicles.
• 1,485,948 light trucks were sold in Canada in 2023, 15.5% higher than the previous year’s 1,285,829 vehicles sold.

New Zealand Car Sales Statistics

• New Zealand registered 110,230 new passenger vehicles in 2023.
• Toyota led vehicle sales in New Zealand with 21,876 units sold in 2023 — Mitsubishi came second with 10,269 sales.

Ireland Car Sales Statistics

• 121,850 new cars were registered in Ireland in 2023 — 15.6% higher than 2022 (105,398) and only 4% higher than 2019 (117,109).
• In 2023, sales of new electric cars grew from 15,678 vehicles in 2022 to 22,789 vehicles in 2023.
• Petrol remains the most popular fuel type for Irish cars with 30.07% market share in 2023. Diesel engines come close at 22.16% market share.
• Electric, Hybrid, and Plug-in electric hybrid account for 45.5% of the new car market in Ireland.

Car Sales in South Africa Statistics

• 532,500 new cars were registered in South Africa in 2023 — 0.64% higher than the 529,100 new cars registered in 2022.

Singapore Car Sales Statistics

• 30,225 new cars were registered in Singapore in 2023 — a few cars short of the 30,939 units registered in 2022.
• At 7,248 units, Toyota recorded the most vehicle sales of any car brand in Singapore in 2023.
• With only 941 sales in 2023, Tesla struggled to penetrate the Singapore new car market.

India Car Sales Statistics

• India recorded its highest-ever yearly sales of 4,100,258 vehicles in 2023.
• 391,066 vehicles were sold in October 2023 alone, making it the best sales month in India's history.

International Car Sales Statistics

• In 2023, China retained its position as the largest single-country car market in the world with 25 million vehicle sales. 
• China outsold the USA by 10 million vehicles in 2023, breaking its own all-time high of 24,171,400 passenger vehicles registered in China in 2017. 
• India overtook Japan as the third largest car market in the world — 4,101,700 vehicles registered in India versus Japan’s 3,992,700 vehicle sales in 2023.
• In 2023, India’s car market grew by 8.1% from 3,792,400 in 2022 to 4,101,700 in 2023.
• The European Union, the UK, and EFTA countries registered 12,847,500 vehicles in 2023 — a 13.7% increase from the 11,286,900 vehicles registered in 2022.
• 2019 was the best year for the European Union, the UK, and EFTA countries in terms of car sales —  a combined 15,805,800 vehicles were sold in those markets.
• Sales of light vehicles (passenger cars, trucks, SUVs) in the USA increased by 12.4% to 15,457,400 vehicles in 2023.
• Mexico reported 1,360,100 light passenger vehicle sales in 2023.
• For the second year running, Japan failed to reclaim its position as the third largest car market — it is presently fourth with 3,992,700 vehicle sales in 2023. India recorded 4,101,700 vehicle sales in 2023.
• Sales of light vehicles in Brazil grew 11% to 2,180,200 in 2023.

Brand Performance

Who is the leading car manufacturer in the world? 

Toyota is the world's best-selling automaker for the fourth year running. In 2023, Toyota sold more than 11,233,039 vehicles, followed by Volkswagen which sold 9.24 million vehicles.

In 2022, Toyota sold more than 9.5 million vehicles, followed by Volkswagen (8.2 million) and Hyundai/Kia (6.8 million).

Toyota has an accomplished range of 4x4 and hybrid vehicles. The Hilux pick-up is a global leader when it comes to 4x4 vehicles, while the Corolla is one of the best selling hybrid cars worldwide. 

Volkswagen Group includes Skoda, Audi, SEAT and Volkswagen. VW's growth has traditionally been driven by the Golf hatchback. However, in recent years, the Tiguan and Polo have surpassed the Golf in global sales. Volkswagen’s new electric I.D range is expected to surpass these cars in the years to come. 

BMW Car Sales Statistics

• BMW sold a record-breaking 2,253,835 vehicles globally in 2023, marking its best year ever, with deliveries rising by 7.3% compared to 2022.
• In 2023, BMW set a new annual record sales of 362,244 vehicles in 2023 for the brand in the U.S.
• In 2023, BMW Group sold 566,486 electrified vehicles (BEV & PHEV) worldwide.
• BMW sold 330,596 cars without a combustion engine in 2023 — this represents a massive jump of 92.2% compared to 2022.
• The MINI sold 295,474 vehicles globally in 2023.
• Asia was BMW’s biggest market, with 1,070,142 vehicles sold in 2023 — China alone accounted for 824,932 sales.
• In 2023, BMW recorded 942,805 vehicle sales in Europe, a 7.5% YoY increase from 2022.

Chevrolet Car Sales Statistics

• In 2023, Chevrolet sold  1,702,700 vehicles in the U.S. — the company’s highest-ever sales year was 2005 with 2,584,509 vehicles sold.
• Chevrolet grew its sales in Canada by 18.4% in 2023. The automaker sold 135,484 vehicles in the Canadian market in 2023 Vs. 114,435 sold in 2022.
• Brazil registered 327,781 Chevrolet vehicles in 2023 — Mexico (172,066), Columbia (23,241), Argentina (30,437), and Chile (18,861).

Tesla Car Sales Statistics

• In 2023, Tesla sold 654,888 vehicles in the US alone. The Model Y was the most popular Tesla EV (394,497 sold) followed by the Model 3 (220,910 sold). Tesla Model X and Model S sold 23,015 and 16,466 units respectively.
• Tesla sold 47,840 EVs in the UK in 2023, making it the top-ranking automaker with 15.2% of the EV market share.
• In Norway, Tesla sold 25,376 vehicles in 2023, which puts it at the top of the EV market with 23.6% of the market share.
• In 2023, Tesla had a 12.% share of the German EV market — the automaker sold 63,682 vehicles. 
• In France, Tesla’s most popular vehicles were the Model Y (37,127 sold) and Model 3 (24,539). A total of 62,711 new Tesla EVs were registered in the country in 2023.
• Tesla claimed the #1 spot in 2023 with a 24.9% market share and 16,633 vehicles sold in Italy.
• In Sweden, Tesla sold 20,501 vehicles and had a 17.4% market share, making it the #1 best-selling EV automaker in 2023. 
• In 2023, Tesla had a 17.6% share of the Belgian EV market — the automaker sold 12,065 vehicles.
• In Spain, Tesla had a 22% EV market share with 13,260 vehicles sold in 2023 — 6,843 of them were the Tesla Model Y and 6,123 were Model 3. 
• Tesla sold 603,304 EVs in China in 2023. The automaker faced stiff opposition from China’s BYD which sold 1,262,065 BEVs.

Regulatory Factors Affecting Car Sales

• Sales of EVs in Germany are likely to stall in 2024 as the government’s electric-car subsidy will no longer apply to vehicles registered after 24 December 2023 — the incentive was supposed to run until the end of 2024.
• Starting in 2024, the US tax credit for EVs will be subject to new restrictions: vehicles with battery components sourced from certain countries will no longer be eligible for the credit. This could significantly impact the affordability of certain EVs as well as EV manufacturers’ sales since the tax credit greatly influences buying decisions.

Sources

SMMT, The Department for Transport, BloombergNEF, national statistical agencies, CarExpert, JATO, Forbes, GM Authority, Nikkei Asia, US Department of Energy, Car And Driver, Dongchedi, JADA, Best-Selling-Cars, IndiaToday, Kelley Blue Book, EV Volumes, CNBC, GoCompare, Porch Group Media, Beepi, Miami Herald, SwansWay Garages, ING, ACEA, Factory Warranty List, GoodCarBadCar, WhatCar, China Auto Dealers Association, AAA-Data, KBA, Facon Auto, Scotia Bank, Stat Canada, SIMI, Trading Economics, LTA, BMW Group, Tesla, CAAM, Porch Group Media, Beepi, F&I Tools