January saw new car registrations get off to a weak start falling for the fourth consecutive month but there were contrasting performances among carmakers with winners and losers.
Chinee brand started 2025 as it had finished last year with the strongest performance of any brand, up 550% to 1,614 car sales.
In second place was EV maker, Geely-owned Polestar which saw sales rise 216% to 756 units for the month.
Jeep was in third place in terms of growth with registrations showing double digit growth, up 87.5% to 960 units in January.
Japanese brand Lexus rose 54.1% for the month the to hit 1,62 sales while hard hit Genesis saw sales 46.8% to reach just 91 for the month.
But January also saw some brands struggle to make an impact as they move into 2025. Niche brands Alpine, smart, Ineos and Maserati all saw declines of at least 50%.
Citroen registrations fell -46.3% to 1,256 units, Subaru was down -41.5% to 113 units, Jaguar –41.2% to 783 units, Honda -32.6% to 1,624 units and Ford -31.6% to 6,636 units.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said the market needed incentives to boost EV sales.
“January’s figures show EV demand is growing – but not fast enough to deliver on current ambitions.
“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 penalising 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.”
