Car sales statistics 2024 – UK & worldwide

We've got years of experience selling cars, so have a strong understanding of car sales. This guide gives you deep insights into the UK and international car markets, highlighting key trends, facts and statistics for new and used car sales.

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.
• The Tesla Model Y was the world's best-selling car, with over 1.2 million delivered.
• China registered 30,094,767 new vehicles in 2023, making 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.
• The Ford Fiesta was the UK's most popular used car in 2023, with 308,017 changing hands through the year.
• Grey is the UK's most popular car colour, followed by black and white.
• There were 7,242,692 used car sales in the UK in 2023, a 5.1% increase from 2022.

Car Sales Global Overview

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

China is the largest car market in the world, with over 30 million new vehicles sold in 2023. 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.

Electric vehicles saw strong sales in 2023, with nearly 14 million units sold globally. The majority of electric cars were sold in China, Europe and the United States - just under 60% of new EVs that year were sold in China.

• May 2024 marked 22 months of consecutive growth in the UK's new car market, with new car registrations up 1.7%.
• Diesel and petrol sales were both down in May 2024 compared to the same month last year, dropping 16.7% and 2.1%, respectively.
• EV sales grew 6.2% in May 2024, with sales currently 9.7% above the same period (January-May) in 2023 - 133,062 EVs have been sold in the UK so far this year.
• Over 3.6 million new vehicles were registered in the EU between January and April 2024.
• Petrol is still the popular fuel choice for new cars, but demand has declined across Europe - from 37.9% in 2023 to 35.20% in the first few months of 2024. 
• The opening months of 2024, sales of diesel-powered vehicles in the EU dropped from 15.8% to 13.4% compared to the same period in 2023.

New Car Sales Statistics in 2023

• China was the #1 car production country in the world, hitting a total of 30,126,000 vehicles in 2023.
• The German market had the highest growth in new car registrations in Europe at 19.1%. 
• 15,278,087 cars were sold in the United States in 2023. The USA had the second-highest figure for new cars sold that year, followed by Japan, Germany and India. 
• Japan was the third-highest passenger car market in the world in 2023 with over 4.7 million units sold.
• BEV sales grew 50% in the U.S. and Canada, 27% in Europe and 35% in China in 2023 compared to 2022.
• China’s EV sales expanded by 35% to 8.1 million units in 2023, accounting for 31% of the new car market that year.
• 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

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 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).
• In 2020, the used car market fell 15% compared to 2019, with 6.7 million cars sold.
• 2021 used car sales were 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. 

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.

Want to know how much your road tax will be? Check out our guide to the latest VED car tax rates. 

UK Car Sales Statistics 

Most popular car: Ford Puma (49,591 registrations in 2023).

Most popular EV: Tesla Model Y (30,032 registrations in 2023).

New car sales in 2023: 1.903 million

Largest sales year: 2016 (3.1 million new car sales).

UK Car Sales 2024

In the first six months of 2024, car sales were 6% up compared to the same point in 2023. This increase in UK new car sales is largely driven by cars with an electrical component, with EVs (9.2%) plug-in hybrids (31.2%) and hybrids (15.2%) all experiencing strong sales growth in the first half of 2024.

July 2024 also delivered the 24th consecutive month of growth in the UK new car market, with sales rising 2.5%.

September 2024 UK Car Sales Statistics:

• BEV sales are up 24.4% compared to September 2023, with 56,387 sales. 
• Electric car sales are predicted to comprise 18.5% of total car sales in 2024.
• Despite being the best September for car sales since 2020, performance was still 19.8% lower than September 2019.
• Consumer demand for diesel outstripped consumer demand for EVs - EV sales growth was largely driven through fleet purchases.
• Private EV demand is down 6.3% so far this year - growth again being driven by fleets.

UK Car Market Trends

It's clear that diesel-powered cars are falling out of favour with the British public. Diesel car sales were down 12.1% in the first six months of 2024, with 66,220 sold (compared to 75,321 over the same period in 2023). In June 2024, sales of diesel-powered cars were down 17.2%.

While petrol cars still command the majority of the new car registration market (55% in the first 6 months of 2024) the strongest performance gain so far in 2024 has been hybrid cars. PHEVs have increased sales by 31.2% compared to the same period in 2023, with 81,522 sold. HEV sales have also grown by 15.2%.

How many cars are sold in the UK each year?

Before the pandemic, the UK was averaging over 2 million new car sales every year (using data back to 2000). Since Covid-19 disrupted global supply chains, car sales have been notably lower than that, but numbers are increasing; 2023 saw over 1.9 million new cars sold, with 2024, set to have higher sales than that.

At this point it us unclear what impact a road pricing taxation system would have on annual sales.

The UK Used Car Market

The second hand car market in the UK has been strong in recent years. 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).

• By the end of the first year of ownership, a new car will have lost around 40% of its value.

Q1 Used Car Sales:

• 1.968 million used cars changed hands in Q1 2024 - the fifth quarter of successive growth and a 6.5% increase YoY.
• The South East is the region with the most transactions, at 289,011.
• 2023 saw more than 7.24 million used cars change hands - 5.1% higher than in 2022.
• Used BEV sales nearly doubled to 118,973 - but despite growth of 90.9% YoY, electric cars made up just 1.6% of the second-hand car market in 2023.

Q2 Used Car Sales:

• The used car market grew by 7.2%, continuing the trend of quarterly growth.
• Used EV sales grew by 52.6%, pushing used EVs to their highest-ever market share of 2.4%.
• In the first half of 2024, used car sales grew by 6.8% YoY - the market is now only 3% below pre-pandemic levels.

UK used car market trends

The used cars market in the UK grew 6.5% in Q1 2024. One of the main trends to be aware of is the growing popularity of used EVs - in Q1 2024, EV used car sales increased by 71%, and had its highest-ever market share at 2.1%.

• The most popular used car in Q1 2024 was the Ford Fiesta, with 80,814. The top 5 most popular used cars for Q1 2024 were:
  • Ford Fiesta (80,814)
  • Vauxhall Corsa (66,821)
  • Ford Focus (60,058)
  • Volkswagen Golf (59,810)
  • MINI (42,102)

What are the most popular cars in the UK?

Hatchbacks and SUVs are typically the UK's most popular cars - in 2023, the Ford Puma topped the best-sellers list. In 2022, the most popular car was the Nissan Qashqai, and in 2021, it was the Vauxhall Corsa. 

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

1. Ford Puma (38,944)
2. Kia Sportage (37,582)
3. Nissan Qashqai (32,923)
4. Nissan Juke (28,727)
5. Volkswagen Golf (27,456)
6. Hyundai Tuscon (26,096)
7. Audi A3 (24,957)
8. Volkswagen Polo (23,758)
9. Tesla Model Y (23,495)
10. MG HS (23,115)

UK Car Sales 2023

2023 was the UK new car market's best year since the pandemic. Every month of the year saw growth on the previous one, but that growth was driven by fleet investment, with private consumer purchases making up less than half (817,673) of new registrations in 2023.

However, new car sales were still below pre-pandemic levels. For much of the 2010s, over 2 million cars were sold each year.

• New car registrations grew 17.9% in 2023.
• 1.903 million new cars were sold.
• 2023's growth was driven by fleet investment, which increased by 38.7% YoY.
• More than 300,000 EVs were sold - up 17.8% YoY.
• In total, 1,057,069 new cars with an electric motor (EVs, HEVs, MHEVs and PHEVs) were sold in 2023.

The best-selling cars in the UK 2023

The Ford Puma was the best selling car in the UK in 2023, proving that while SUVs may seem all encompassing, small hatchbacks are still in demand.

1. Ford Puma (49,591)
2. Nissan Qashqai (43,321)
3. Vauxhall Corsa (40,816)
4. Kia Sportage (36,135)
5. Tesla Model Y (35,899)
6. Hyundai Tucson (34,469)
7. MINI (33,385)
8. Nissan Juke (31,745)
9. Audi A3 (30,159)
10. Vauxhall Mokka (29,984)

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) 

Electric and Hybrid Cars Sales Statistics

Electric and hybrid cars are becoming more and more popular across the world. 

In the UK in 2014, just 2.2% of all new passenger cars were electric. This figure grew to 16.6% by 2022, with sales continuing to grow as the UK nears the 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel powered cars. In 2022, the growing share of electric-powered vehicles meant that the UK's average new car CO2 fell 6.9% to 111.4g/km - the lowest in history.

• It's estimated that around 17 million electric cars will be sold globally in 2024 - 10.1 million will be sold in China alone.
• 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.
• 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 - 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.
• In Japan, hybrid cars made up the largest share (55%) of the 2,651,397 vehicles sold in 2023.

For more information and the latest EV statistics, visit out Electric Car Statistics page.

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).

What is the best-selling electric car in the UK?

The Tesla Model Y is the best-selling electric car (EV) in the UK having notched up 35,899 sales in 2023. Second was the MG4 with 21,715 sales, followed by the Audi Q4 e-tron (16,757), Tesla Model 3 (13,536) and Polestar 2 (12,542).

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.
• Sales of light vehicles in Brazil grew 11% to 2,180,200 in 2023.

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.
• 1.277 million automotive vehicles were sold in the US in July 2024, a drop from the same month in 2023, where 1.314 million were sold.

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

• 1,216,780 vehicles were sold 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, only a few 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.

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's US sales have stalled in 2024 relative to the company's usual performance. May 2024 marked the 4th consecutive month Tesla registrations fell, despite overall EV registrations increasing by 9.6% in May.
• Tesla sold 47,840 EVs in the UK in 2023, making it the top-ranking automaker with 15.2% of the EV  market.
• Tesla sold 603,304 EVs in China in 2023. The automaker faced stiff opposition from China’s BYD which sold 1,262,065 BEVs.