MG HS was the UK’s best-selling new car in January

The UK’s best-selling car in January 2023 was the MG HS, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). 

With 3,481 examples of the MG SUV delivered last month, it beat the Volkswagen T-Roc and Nissan Qashqai to top the sales charts. 

The MG HS is sold with the option of a plug-in hybrid powertrain, alongside conventional petrol engine options. 

With total new car registrations of 131,994 for January, it was the sixth consecutive month of sales growth. It also made for the best start to the year since January 2020’s (pre-Covid) figure of 149,279 registrations.

New cars buck the economic trend

Despite the wider economic challenges of the cost-of-living crisis, last month saw a 14.7 percent increase in the number of new vehicles registered versus January 2022.

Pure battery-electric models accounted for 19.8 percent of all sales in January 2023, with plug-in hybrid cars taking 6.9 percent of sales. 

This means one-in-five new cars registered last month came with a plug, with the figure predicted to increase to one-in-four by the end of the year. 

In 2024, the SMMT expects to see battery and plug-in hybrid cars take close to one-third (31 percent) of all sales.

Infrastructure worries could see EVs slide

However, the SMMT is concerned that public charging infrastructure is failing to keep pace with the increase in demand for battery and plug-in hybrid models. 

During the fourth quarter of 2022, the ratio of new chargepoint installations to new plug-in car registrations decreased to one charger for every 62 vehicles. During the whole of 2022, one standard public charger was installed for every 53 new plug-in cars registered. This made for the weakest ratio seen since 2020.

The SMMT is looking to the Government to introduce mandatory rollout targets for charging infrastructure, along with service standards for public chargers.

Reducing VAT on public charging from 20 percent to five percent, in line with home charging, is also seen as important to make electric vehicle ownership more affordable.

UK’s best-selling new cars in January 2023

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