The Jaecoo 7 was the UK’s second-best-selling new car last month, when its 4059 registrations proved enough to beat long-established front-runners such as the Ford Puma, Nissan Qashqai and Vauxhall Corsa.

Indeed, according to data issued by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), it was only 616 units behind the Kia Sportage, the top-ranked car in January.

Although the SMMT cautions that January is “not necessarily indicative of the full year trend” because it is “typically a lower-volume month”, the figures highlight Jaecoo’s surprising ascent into the UK’s mainstream, having only launched here in January 2025.

It marks another strong month for the newcomer, with the 7 having already beaten the Nissan Qashqai to sixth place in November 2025.

It now remains to be seen whether Jaecoo can sustain that momentum throughout 2026, or whether the traditional top sellers – such as the Puma, last year’s most popular new car – will return to their usual sales success.

A total of 144,127 new cars were registered in the UK last month, an increase on the 139,345 recorded in January 2025. This, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said, shows the nation is “building back momentum” after a challenging few years. 

Hawes warned that the pace of the transition to electric cars may be slowing, as EV registrations rose only marginally year on year, to 29,654 cars. That meant their market share actually fell, from 21.3% in January 2025 to 20.6% last month.

The Renault 5 was the UK’s best-selling electric car at retail, according to the French brand.

Pure-petrol and diesel cars continued their protracted downfall. The former powertrain now represents fewer than half of all cars sold, with its market share falling from 50.3% to 47.7%. Diesel, meanwhile, dropped from a 6.2% share to 5.5%.

Regular hybrids experienced a small bump in sales, with their market share rising from 13.2% to 13.4%.

The biggest gains were made by plug-in hybrids, which went from a 9.0% share to 12.9%, buoyed by strong sales of more affordable Chinese models such as the BYD Seal U and MG HS.

The UK’s best-selling cars in January 2026