Kia Sportage tops September sales charts, as it rapidly gains on Ford Puma’s year-to-date figures

The Kia Sportage has knocked the Ford Puma from the top spot to become the best-selling car in September, with the compact crossover on a trajectory to take the year-to-date sales title from the Blue Oval.

Kia managed to sell 7,482 Sportage models in September, with Ford shifting 6,681 Pumas in the same time frame. Overall, the new car was market up 1.0% to 275,239 units in key ‘74’ plate change month of September.

There have been a number of models that have disappeared from the Top 10 list entirely, with the Tesla Model 3 slipping from its previous third place position in August of this year, while the Audi A4, which is still among the best-selling cars to date, has also dropped from September’s sales charts.

Despite demand cooling off for the Tesla Model 3, the company’s Model Y performed admirably, with 5,799 vehicles sold in September. This move has seen it take the ninth spot in the Top 10 best selling cars of the year so far, with 23,495 Model Ys finding new homes already.

Best selling cars in September

1. Kia Sportage – 7,482
2. Ford Puma – 6,681
3. Nissan Juke – 6,025
4. Hyundai Tucson – 5,799
5. Tesla Model Y – 5,799
6. Nissan Qashqai – 5,239
7. Volkswagen Polo – 4,657
8. Volkswagen Tiguan – 4,327
9. Ford Kuga – 4,066
10. Volkswagen Golf – 3,974

However, some of September’s sales success has been driven by heavy EV discounting, as the SMMT calculates that manufacturers are on course to spend at least £2 billion on discounting EVs this year.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, commented: “September’s record EV performance is good news, but look under the bonnet and there are serious concerns as the market is not growing quickly enough to meet mandated targets.”

Best selling cars this year

1. Ford Puma – 38,994
2. Kia Sportage – 37,582
3. Nissan Qashqai – 32,923
4. Nissan Juke- 28,727
5. Volkswagen Golf – 27,456
6. Hyundai Tucson – 26,096
7. Audi A3 – 24,957
8. Volkswagen Polo – 23,758
9. Tesla Model Y – 23,495
10. MG HS – 23,115

Hawes added: “Despite manufacturers spending billions on both product and market support – support that the industry cannot sustain indefinitely – market weakness is putting environmental ambitions at risk and jeopardising future investment.

“While we appreciate the pressures on the public purse, the Chancellor must use the forthcoming Budget to introduce bold measures on consumer support and infrastructure to get the transition back on track, and with it the economic growth and environmental benefits we all crave.”

According to the most recent figures, uptake of plug-in hybrids (PHEV) grew faster than any other fuel type in the month, up 32.1% to take an 8.9% share of the market. Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) registrations also rose by 2.6%, boosting market share to 14.2%, while petrol and diesel registrations declined by -9.3% and -7.1% respectively, although together they were still the choice of 56.4% of buyers in September.

As a result, the bosses of several leading carmakers have joined the SMMT in penning an open letter to the government, urging them to cut VAT on new EVs amid ‘barely moving’ demand.

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