Once used for a front-wheel-drive coupe with Fiesta underpinnings, the Puma nameplate returned to the Ford Motor Company's lineup in 2019 for a subcompact crossover that features – coincidentally – the same platform as the Fiesta. The Dearborn-based automaker discontinued the B-segment hatchback in 2023 over falling demand for small hatchbacks in Europe, which is why the Brits have taken a liking to the small crossover.
In the United Kingdom, the Ford Puma sold better than both the Nissan Qashqai and Vauxhall Corsa in 2023. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the Brits registered no fewer than 49,591 units last year. The Qashqai and Corsa, by comparison, clocked 43,321 and 40,816 registrations.
The top ten further comprises the Kia Sportage in fourth place (36,135 units), followed by the Tesla Model Y (35,899), Hyundai Tucson (34,469), MINI Hatch (33,385), Nissan Juke (31,745), Audi A3 (30,159), and Vauxhall Mokka (29,984). In light of current economic hardships, it's rather surprising that Audi sold more A3s in the United Kingdom than sister marque VW sold Golfs.
As you already know by now, the Model Y was the nation's favorite zero-emission passenger vehicle. Somewhat worrying for the European automotive industry, the China-built MG4 was the second best-selling EV in the UK with 21,715 registrations to its name. Audi took third place with the Volkswagen ID.4-twinned Q4 e-tron (16,757 units), followed by Tesla with the Model 3 (13,536), the Polestar 2 (12,542), Volkswagen ID.3 (10,295), Kia e-Niro (10,084), BMW i4 (8,940), Volkswagen ID.4 (8,495), and Skoda Enyaq iV (8,136).
Registrations totaled 1,903,054 vehicles, representing an improvement of 17.9 percent from the year 2022. Most of said vehicles feature unassisted internal combustion engines. The SMMT breaks the grand total down into 774,484 gasoline vehicles, 362,129 mild hybrids, 238,942 hybrids, 141,311 plug-in hybrids, and 71,501 diesels. When it comes to electric vehicles, make that 314,687.
Photo: Andrei Tutu
The SMMT also breaks the grand total down into three categories: fleet buyers (1,041,350 registrations), private consumers (817,673 registrations), and business registrations (44,031). Be that as it may, the new car market remains below pre-pandemic levels. SMMT data further shows that mainstream consumer demand remains flat, which is why the industry urges the government to halve the value-added tax on new battery-electric passenger cars for three years to lure private customers.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders estimates that halving VAT would give private buyers an extra 7.7 billion pounds sterling in electric vehicle buying power through 2026. On the other side of the coin, this would reduce the Treasury's tax take by 22 percent per vehicle for each additional driver prepared to give up internal combustion for zero-emission passenger cars.
Halving the value-added tax would encourage an estimated 270,000 new buyers to make the switch, putting an estimated 1.9 million new electric vehicles on British roads by the end of 2026. While that may improve the UK's carbon footprint, it's not clear whether the SMMT's estimates are plausible or wishful thinking.
To whom it may concern, the United Kingdom's best-selling car of 2023 starts at 25,640 pounds sterling for the Titanium grade with the six-speed manual and the 1.0-liter EcoBoost with mild-hybrid assistance. As for Tesla's Model Y, the configurator lists a cash price of £44,990 for the rear-drive version with 283 miles (455 kilometers) of WLTP-rated driving range.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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