- Over 20% of May registrations are Chinese
- Premium marques are also doing well
- But mainstream brands begin to flounder
- Maserati continues to outsell DS
THERE’S a growing polarisation in the UK new car market with Chinese brands and established premium brands all performing well. It’s the middle-ground that is suffering.
The latest official new car registration figures – for May 2026 – show buyers appear, with a few notable exceptions, to be gravitating toward high-spec, low cost new entrants or sticking with premium brands all at the expense of legacy manufacturers that occupy the space in between.
Following the April figures, Chinese-owned brands once again accounted for more than a fifth (20.3%) of registrations in May and are running at 18.8% year-to-date, up from 12.7% and 11.4% respectively during the same period last year.
With a year-to-date share of nearly 19%, up 7.4%, that gain has pushed the overall market up 8.7% (or nearly 74,000 units) against 2025’s figure.
Observed in unit terms, rather than market share, Chinese-owned brands have seen an increase of more than 77,000 cars over the first five months of 2026. The rest of the market is down just over 3,500 units.
May 2026 top selling models
Source: SMMT
Top 5 unit gains YTD
Bottom 5 unit losses YTD
1 Jaecoo 22,029
2 BYD 16,746
3 Chery 14,143
4 Omoda 9,482
5 Citroen 7,577
5 Fiat -2,453
4 Volkswagen -3,204
3 Seat -3,610
2 Peugeot -5,103
1 Nissan -6,417
Citroen starts to make significant ground
As Broker News has been highlighting for some time, the main Chinese brands are doing exceedingly well, but there are a few established brands that aren’t far behind and qualify as exceptions to the market split rule.
Citroen, on the back of a strong, low-cost, product line-up is doing remarkably well this year. Together with sister brands Vauxhall and Leapmotor (which is also a Chinese new entrant) the trio are keeping Stellantis in positive territory (up more than 5,000 cars on 2025’s year-to-date total). However, it is worth noting that the increase would have been doubled if Peugeot had sold the same number of cars this year as last.
Another clear example of the market split comes from inside the Volkswagen Group. While Audi registrations are up 7.6%, or 3,317 units, year-to-date (admittedly against a poor 2025) and Cupra continues to grow strongly, Volkswagen brand registrations have fallen 4.2% and SEAT volumes are down 33.9%.
Nissan, another mid-market brand, isn’t just in the news for the Chinese partnerships at its Sunderland factory, but also for its own sales performance, or rather its lack of sales performance.
As the fastest falling brand in outright numbers (down nearly 6,500 cars in the first five months of 2026) it is suffering from a lack of product, in particular the Nissan Leaf which was supposed to have gone on sale at the start of the year.
The original Leaf was, arguably, as instrumental in getting the EV market started in the UK as the Tesla Model 3. However, having been without the model for some time, customer retention is not going to be easy. This shows in the brand’s market share year-to-date, which is at its lowest point (3.6%) for some years. For May, Nissan’s share was just 3.0% and this is despite having an all-electric Micra on sale which shares the same underpinnings as the highly successful Renault 5.
Nick Williams, Transport Managing Director, Lloyds Banking Group comments on the May 2026 new car registrations
“May’s figures point to a steady, underlying momentum behind the EV transition. With pump prices remaining elevated and the running cost gap between electric and petrol widening, more drivers are doing the maths and concluding that electric makes sense – not as a long-term aspiration, but as their next car.
“What’s striking is how quickly the affordability picture has changed. Average used EV prices are now generally lower than those of used petrol cars, and the used market is growing fast – battery electric transactions were up more than 30% in the first quarter alone. For many households, a three-year-old EV is now genuinely competitive on price, and the running-cost savings then start from day one.
“The other shift worth noting is on confidence. Assumptions around battery longevity and charging points are changing fast, lifting one of the last meaningful barriers to mainstream uptake. Sustaining this through the rest of 2026 will depend on continued investment in charging, policy stability, and ensuring the value case stays clear for both households and fleets.”
Electrification heads upwards
Nissan’s lack of Leaf also comes as May saw a significant uptick in battery electric car registrations.
Until May, the year had been running at an EV mix of around 23%, significantly behind the Government’s ZEV Mandate target of 33%, but May saw the mix for the month leap to 27.3% and take the year-to-date figure to nearly 24%.
Plug-in hybrid sales are also growing significantly in 2026. An increase to a market share of 13% against a 10% share a year ago makes the 41.8% hike in registrations the fastest rising fuel type
Stellantis: why do you still sell the DS?
- You have to ask why Stellantis continues to sell the DS brand in the UK? Can all the administrative costs of running the marque at a national sales company and retailer level really be covered by the sale of 68 cars year-to-date? For reference, that’s approximately one third of the cars sold by sister Stellantis brand Maserati (191).
- New Chinese brand Aion made its first appearance in the registrations chart with 31 cars registered in May.
- Aion’s one month figure was more than Skywell’s YTD total of 26 cars, despite Skywell having been on sale in the UK for nearly two years.
- Also outselling Skywell is Chevrolet which has so far sold 30 Corvettes in the UK this year.
Main image: Shutterstock by Candy + Candy modified with AI
Read our new car market analysis of April 2026 registrations
Chinese brands take a fifth of April’s new car market
In April BYD, Chery, Jaecoo and Omoda continued to make new car market running
But not all Chinese brands are enjoying the same success
Broker News Newsletter 7 July 2026
Catch up on the latest leasing broker news in the 7 July 2026 Broker News newsletter
BCF Wessex expands Gensen salary sacrifice with used EVs
BCF Wessex has expanded its Gensen Salary Sacrifice platform to support used EVs enabling leasing brokers to offer employees a wider choice
Growing number of UK CV and trailer fleets are using solar panels
European research shows how fleet operators could improve vehicle energy management and battery health with vehicle solar panels
Marco Capozzoli promoted to Group Fleet Broker Director at Vertu Motors
Marco Capozzoli has been appointed Group Fleet Broker Director at Vertu Motors, as it seeks to strengthen its fleet position
Leasing Options launches its own training academy
Leasing Options has launched the Leasing Options Training Academy to support the company’s continued growth
Craig Mailey to head Cox Automotive in Europe
Connected services provider Cox Automotive has appointed Craig Mailey as President of its European operations
Tristan Young is an award winning journalist with more than 25 years’ experience reporting on the automotive industry focussing predominantly on fleet and retail. As a self-confessed petrol-head, Tristan has a weakness for car classifieds. When he’s not writing about the automotive industry, he can usually be found outdoors with a small pack of border collies.
