Chinese-brand models have taken five places in Autotrader’s top 10 most-enquired new cars in July so far.
Established manufacturers continue to account for a significant share of demand, particularly in electric.
Bex Kennett, head of new car at Autotrader, said: “For retailers, the key point is that buyer attention is becoming more fragmented. Compelling products, competitive pricing and the right stock mix will be especially important in the run-up to September.
“Encouragingly, visits to our new car platform were up year-on-year last quarter and advertised stock is also ahead of last year, pointing to a healthy pipeline of activity building ahead of the plate change.
“With discounts also softening in July, the market remains competitive, but less heavily supported than earlier in the summer.”
Visits to Autotrader’s new car platform are up 11% year-on-year last quarter and advertised new car stock currently 16% higher than the same point last year, suggesting buyer interest and retailer readiness are rising ahead of September.
Across all fuel types, the MGS9 generated the highest share of new car enquiries on Autotrader this month, accounting for 5.8% of leads sent through the platform. It was followed by the MG HS (3.5%) and the Jaecoo 7 (3.0%).
Five Chinese-brand models featured in the top 10, with the Jaecoo 5 ranking ninth with a 1.6% share of enquiries and Chery’s Tiggo 8 completing the list (1.5%).
At brand level, MG led the overall new car rankings with a 13.3% share of enquiries, ahead of BMW (10.2%) and Audi (7.9%).
Jaecoo and Chery also appeared in the top 10, ranking sixth and ninth respectively.
MG is the most-enquired electric brand in July to date, with a 9.7% share, but European, Korean and US manufacturers still account for seven of the top 10, including Renault, Kia, BMW, Hyundai, Audi, Ford, and Tesla.
At model level, the Renault 5 E-Tech Electric is leading the electric rankings with a 5.5% share of enquiries. The Jaecoo 5 ranked second among electric models (4.2%), followed by the BMW iX3 (3.9%). Ford’s Explorer and Hyundai’s INSTER completed the top five.
