UK 2024. Car Market Rises For Firth Year, Ford Slips Out Of Podium

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Ford Puma 2021
Ford Puma 2021

British Auto Market kept its five-year streak in 2024, growing 2.6% to 1.95 million units. Volkswagen held the lead, but BMW closed in fast. EV sales slipped 10.3%, struggling to gain traction.

Market Trend and Outlook

The UK economy is forecast to grow 1.7% in 2025, fueled by fiscal expansion, before slowing to 1.3% in 2026 as stimulus effects fade. Inflation will stay above target, driven by wage pressures and services price inflation. Fiscal deficits, at 4.5% of GDP in 2025 and 3.9% in 2026, will keep public debt above 100%.

Monetary policy is easing gradually, with the Bank Rate expected to fall to 3.5% by 2026, while increased public spending and borrowing drive growth. Unemployment is projected to decline to 4.0% in 2026, amid tight labour markets and skills shortages. Strong residential investment, supported by household savings and credit growth, will boost activity, but rising taxes and investment crowding-out may weigh on private consumption. Priorities include rebuilding fiscal buffers, boosting labour supply through childcare reforms, and addressing skills gaps to ensure sustainable growth. 

The UK EV market missed expectations in 2024, sliding 10.3% to just 9% of total car sales and breaking a four-year growth streak.

Tesla claimed the top spot, overtaking Ford, which dropped 5% to second. Hyundai (5th) and Nissan (8th) made notable gains, but Renault stole the spotlight, jumping 8 places to 10th as the year’s standout performer.

Despite economic challenges, the broader UK car market stayed on course, rising 2.6% from 2023 to 1.95 million units sold, maintaining steady growth throughout most of the year.

Looking at cumulative data for December 2024,  Volkswagen was still the best selling brand with 166,304 sales (+2.6%).

BMW rose 2 spots into 2nd with 125,265 sales (+12.1%) while Audi ranked 3rd with 122,431 sales (-10.9%).

In fourth place Kia with 112,252 sales (+4.2%) followed by Ford -down 3 spots- with 109,955 (-23.7%), and Mercedes -up 3 spots- with 102,757 units sold (+17.1%).

In seventh place Toyota -down 2 spots- 101,444 (-7.7%) ahead of Nissan with 100,446 (+12.3%), Hyundai -up 1 spot- with 91,808 (+5.4%) and in 10th place MG -up 1 spot- with 81,536 sales (+0.3%).

Looking at best-selling models, the leader was still the Ford Puma with 48,340 units sold (-2.5%). The Kia Sportage -up 3 spots- followed in 2nd with 47,163 (+30.5%) while the Nissan Qashqai -down 1 spot- ranked in 3rd at 41,418 (-2.1%).

Medium-Term Market Trend

The decline of the British vehicles market was already in place since a couple of decades, with the relocation of several manufacturing activities in other low cost European countries, but the exit from the European Community has further accelerated the process, starting from the long discussions about BREXIT.

Indeed the market reached a record level in 2016 (2.6 million annual sales) and then started to decline. The pandemic in 2020 further accelerated the process pushing the industry down to 1.6 million and rather than recovering, it seems that the market direction is still down.

In the following two years, in fact, the British market didn’t perform quite well. In 2021 volume remained relatively flat, with sales rising merely 0.7% and in 2022 the market dropped further, losing 1.6%.

Indeed, the effects of current global threats, including record inflation rate, increased fuel price, political instability, transition to electrification, raw materials shortage, are emphasized in UK by the economic effects of BREXIT.

In 2023 the market finally reported a relevant increase with sales improved 17% at 1.9 million.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for the top 40 Brands and top 10 Manufacturers Groups and the top 10 models.

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