HEAVY discounting and significant pre-registration by Mercedes in the latter stages of 2023 has failed to improve the brand’s market share.
While Mercedes new car volume was up 6,872 units in 2023 compared to the previous year (and the second largest growing brand in December), an overall market increase of 17.9% meant the agency-only OEM’s market share fell to 4.6% from 5.0% in 2022.
Mercedes is still significantly off its pre-pandemic volumes and market share figures when it would typically register more than 170,000 cars. In 2023, it registered 87,782 cars.
The vast majority of the Mercedes increase in registrations last year was down to its electric car range which saw a 6,574-car increase over the previous year.
Mercedes not only offered huge discounts on new EVs – with up to £9,600 off being advertised (left) – it also pre-registered significant numbers of cars in 2023. These cars then appeared as nearly-new at dealerships and with highly attractive lease rates in the leasing broker network.
In total, Mercedes registered 19,786 electric cars in 2023 accounting for 22.5% of the brand’s sales. If this level continues in 2024, Mercedes will meet its ZEV Mandate target.
Declining Mercedes market share
Year | Market Share | Volume |
2018 | 7.3% | 172,238 |
2019 | 7.4% | 171,823 |
2020 | 6.8% | 110,883 |
2021 | 6.0% | 97,945 |
2022 | 5.0% | 80,910 |
2023 | 4.6% | 87,782 |
Total new car market 2023
Last year saw new car registrations rise almost 18% over 2022’s total to hit sales of 1.9 million according to latest SMMT data.
The increase was driven almost entirely by the company car and fleet sector which was up nearly 40%. Private sales were flat and accounted for 43% of the market.
The UK’s fastest growing brand by volume was MG with an increase of 30,239 cars, the Chinese-owned brand just pipped Volkswagen which grew by two fewer cars in 2023. However, VW took the overall largest brand title with 162,087 cars registered.
Ford, Audi, BMW and Toyota completed the overall top-five-selling new car brands for 2023.
Five fastest risers
MG
VW
Audi
Skoda
Ford
+30,239
+30,237
+27,341
+21,176
+17,246
Five fastest fallers
Tesla
Fiat
DS
Abarth
Smart
-5,051
-3,100
-1,271
-658
-471
December registrations
December 2023 new car registrations by fuel you put in your car
MG also recorded the largest increase in volume in December with Mercedes second followed by Vauxhall, Dacia and Land Rover.
Overall, December was up 9.8% on 2022, however, electric car registrations fell more than a third against December 2022, with petrol, diesel and PHEVs making up the shortfall.
YTD December 2023 new car registrations by fuel you put in your car
EV winners and losers
Figures from data supplier New Automotive have shed light on the number of pure electric cars sold by each brand.
Tesla continued to top the charts for electric car sales with more than 47,500 cars registered in 2023, however, it also recorded the largest drop in new car numbers, down nearly 5,500 on 2022.
Other brands seeing significant falls include Nissan and Peugeot each dropping nearly 3,000 electric cars and Renault falling nearly 2,500 units.
MG, the second largest electric car brand, recorded the largest increase in new cars in 2023 jumping 13,410 units over 2022 to 29,153 during 2023.
After MG, it was the premium brands that dominated the electric car growth chart. Audi increased by 10,747, BMW was up 7,511 and Mercedes was up 6,574 electric cars in 2023. This trio was closely followed by Volvo, Polestar and VW.
Nick Williams, managing director of Lex Autolease, part of Lloyds Banking Group, on the latest registration figures
“Last year marked a slowdown in the UK’s transition to electric vehicles with the proportion of sales falling significantly below the 2024 ZEV mandate, despite volumes exceeding prior years.
“The long-term commitments made by government have helped to support uptake, but it’s clear that more needs to be done by policy makers, OEMs and the wider industry to drive adoption levels to ensure the UK remains an attractive place to invest.
“Efforts must be focused on the continued rollout of charging infrastructure, driving down new vehicle costs and providing OEMs with the confidence they need to invest in the long-term, all of which will be key to generating the used market, essential in making electric vehicles more accessible and achieving widespread adoption in the future.”
Read our new car market analysis of November 2023 registrations
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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.
