New vehicle shoppers in the UK and Europe have long gravitated toward the Ford Puma, a small crossover that has a lot to offer in terms of value, efficiency, and utility. The Puma has remained at or near the top of the sales charts in both of those places essentially since it launched, and that remained the case throughout the course of 2024 as well. In fact, the Ford Puma wrapped up last year as the UK’s best-selling vehicle overall, and it was also among the top 20 best sellers in Europe. Now, with January in the rear-view, the Puma has continued its hot streak in the UK, specifically.
According to new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the Ford Puma ranked as the seventh best-selling new vehicle in the UK after recording 2,332 sales, which is a bit of a letdown after the crossover dominated the sales charts throughout 2024. It was beaten by its long-time rival, the Kia Sportage, which topped the charts with 3,476 sales, along with the Nissan Qashqai, Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Golf, Peugeot 3008, and Peugeot 2008, but did best the Nissan Juke, MG HS, and MG ZS to round out the top 10.
As for the overall UK new car market, sales dropped by 2.5 percent year-over-year to 139,345 units, the fourth straight month of declines. SMMT notes that this trend can be attributed to weak consumer confidence and tough economic conditions, impacting both the private and commercial vehicle segments, which fell by 3.7 and 0.5 percent, respectively. In terms of powertrains, diesel vehicles dropped by 7.7 percent, followed by gas models with a 15.3 percent decline. Hybrids grew sales by 2.9 percent, followed by plug-in hybrids with a 5.5 percent gain and pure EVs, which grew sales by a significant 41.6 percent.
“January’s figures show EV demand is growing – but not fast enough to deliver on current ambitions,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive. “Affordability remains a major barrier to uptake, hence the need for compelling measures to boost demand, and not just from manufacturers. The application, therefore, of the ‘Expensive Car Supplement’ to VED on electric vehicles is the wrong measure at the wrong time. Rather than penalizing EV buyers, we should be taking every step to encourage more drivers to make the switch, helping meet government, industry, and societal climate change goals.”
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