New Chinese car makers have taken close to 20 per cent of all new car registrations in the big sales month of September, according to figures released by SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders).
September marked the launch of the new 76 registration number, which is traditionally a strong sales month as car buyers wait for the latest numbers on their licence plates – and it always sees a big push from car makers and their dealers to up their sales.
And it’s new Chinese brands such as BYD, Jaecoo, Chery, Omoda, Changan and Geely that have seen huge growth in just a few short years, with their latest models finding favour with UK car buyers.
The Jaecoo 7 – famously nicknamed the Temu Range Rover thanks to its similarity to the British luxury brand’s off-roaders – topped the sales chart with over 10,000 of them finding homes last month. It now sits at number two for the whole year so far, only a few thousand short of the Ford Puma in the number one spot.
When it comes to brands, BYD hit second spot selling 20,140, up nearly 80 per cent year on year and just over 5,000 cars short of Volkswagen who topped September’s brand sales chart.
BYD was ahead of Kia in third place, with more established Chinese brand MG in fourth and Audi in fifth. Tesla was in sixth place despite only having its Model 3 and Model Y on sale in the UK – just ahead of BMW. The Model 3 was the second best-selling car in September, with the Model Y in fifth place.
“These figures are an incredible result for BYD, so I’d like to say a big thank you to all of our customers who buy our cars and enjoy them on a daily basis,” said Steve Beattie, Deputy Country Manager of BYD UK.
“While it’s a huge result for us, we believe that there is still more to come. We’ve launched several other cars recently or are about to. The DOLPHIN G takes us into the hugely popular supermini segment, and despite the car only arriving with our retailers in August, we’ve already taken over 500 orders. Pre-orders for the seven-seat Ti 7 SUV are proving extremely strong, and the SHARK pick-up is generating a huge amount of interest too. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings.”
Chinese brands also dominated the list of fastest growing brands, with Changan seeing phenomenal growth, albeit from a very low base. Chery also saw strong growth, along with Leapmotor, which is part owned by Stellantis and sees its models sold through retailers that also sell the likes of Vauxhall, Citroen, Peugeot and Fiat cars.
It’s some of those more established brands that have been the biggest losers so far this year. On market share, Fiat has dropped over 27 per cent and Peugeot is down 16 per cent. Volkswagen-owned Seat dropped 28 per cent, Mazda is down 17 per cent in 2026, Honda is down 16 per cent and both Nissan and Hyundai have fallen by over 16 per cent year to date.
At the very bottom of the pile is Jaguar, which has sold just eight cars so far in 2026, although the company made the decision to stop selling its existing range in preparation for the arrival of the all-new, all-electric Type 01 luxury model next year. The Jaguar Type 01 is due to be unveiled in New York next week.
The top 12 brands for new car registrations in the UK in September 2026 (volume sold)
- Volkswagen (25,972)
- BYD (20,140)
- Kia (18,399)
- MG (18,026)
- Audi (16,721)
- Tesla (15,875)
- BMW (15,617)
- Mercedes (15,571)
- Jaecoo (15,055)
- Toyota (13,947)
- Skoda (13,371)
- Volvo (12,235)
*Source: SMMT
With electric car sales booming – up by 36.3 per cent in September compared with September last year – thanks in no small part to the rapid rise in fuel costs, it was somewhat surprising to see diesel car sales jump by 11.5 per cent year-on-year. Petrol car sales fell by 6.7 per cent in September, while even hybrid models dropped by just over four per cent. Plug-in hybrids continue to find favour, though – boosted by the number of Chinese cars offering these ‘New Energy Vehicles’. PHEV sales were up by 55.7 per cent compared with last September.
Commenting on the growth in EV sales, a Department for Transport spokesperson said, "September was another record-breaking month for electric car sales in the UK – up 36% in a year and nearly 100,000 electric cars sold in a single month alone.
"The EV revolution is really picking up speed now, and it's never been cheaper or easier to go electric. Our £2 billion Electric Car Grant is already helping over 190,000 drivers make the switch, backed by £600 million to roll out hundreds of thousands more chargers.
"While global fuel prices keep fluctuating, the message is clear - electric isn't just the future, it's the present. And we're making sure Britain leads the charge.”
