The best-selling cars in the UK

The number of new cars sold in the UK in October fell compared with the same month last year, new figures have revealed.

Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveals that a total of 144,288 new cars were registered last month – 6% down on October 2023.

While sales from company car fleets and businesses helped to drive growth in the new car market in September, both sectors slowed in October, declining by 1.7% and 12.8% respectively. Sales from private buyers continued to dwindle, too, accounting for just 38.8% of the market share.

The only vehicle type that recorded growth in October was fully electric cars, which were up 24.5% to account for 20.7% of the market – meaning one-in-five new cars sold in October was fully electric.

The recent Government budget has re-confirmed the ban on new petrol and diesel car sales as being introduced from 2030. This, along with a gradual hike in the road taxes for hybrid and combustion-engined cars, and the ZEV mandate, which requires car makers to sell a certain percentage of electric cars in the years leading up to 2030, is expected to continue to fuel electric car growth.

Despite this, petrol cars remained the go-to fuel choice for the majority of buyers in October, with 55.2% of the market share. Meanwhile, diesel sales fell by 20.5% compared with last year, with just 8961 being registered.

But which models were the biggest sellers in October? Below we've listed the top 10. And if you like the look of any of them, just follow the links to read more or see how much you can save with our New Car Deals service.

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