MG S5 charges to the top of the electric pack as new car interest remains buoyant
28th July 2025 – According to the latest data from Autotrader, consumer appetite in the new car market remains strong with visits to its new car platform up 17% year-on-year (YoY) in July to date as buyers start their new car research ahead of the September plate change.
Retailers are taking advantage of the continued interest amongst prospective buyers by advertising even more of their new car stock in front of the UK’s biggest audience of engaged car buyers. In July so far, the volume of new cars being advertised on Autotrader is currently up 3% compared to the same period last month and 12% on last year.
MG returns to the top of the electric rankings
Despite falling down the lists last month of both the most in demand new electric brand and electric model, the British badged but Chinese owned marque surged back into first of both rankings. A new model from MG however leads the pack in July as the manufacturer’s highly anticipated S5 model generated a 11.9% share of all brand new electric model enquiries – well ahead of its nearest rival the Renault 5 E-tech electric which received a 5.2% share. The affordable price tag along with big savings currently on offer by some retailers has helped propel MG’s crossover SUV to first place this month. Third spot was claimed by Alpine’s sporty hot hatch A290 which accounted for a 4.2% share of enquiries.
MG’s position at the top of the new electric brand leaderboard was a similar story as the manufacturer enjoyed a big lead ahead of BMW which was in second place. MG generated a 15.5% share of enquiries in July whilst the Munich based manufacturer received a 9% share. The top three was rounded off by another German manufacturer as Volkswagen generated a 7.8% share of enquiries this month so far.
New car buyers continue to be attracted by established models
Taking all fuel-types into account, the Land Rover Range Rover Sport is once again the ‘hottest’ new car on Autotrader for a third successive month with a 3.9% share of all new car enquiries. Volkswagen’s popular Golf model is the second most popular new car on the platform with a 2.9% share of enquiries, just pipping Land Rover’s Range Rover which received a 2.6% share.
There was no change at the top of the leaderboard for the most popular new electric brands as BMW, Land Rover and Audi all held onto their positions in the top three. BMW generated an 11.7% share of all new electric brands enquiries, whilst Land Rover received a 10.3% share and Audi a 10% share respectively.
Discounts on electric unchanged whilst EV enquiries rise off the back of ECG announcement
The average new car discount across all fuel types softened slightly with discounts decreasing from 9.4% in June to 9.3% in July. The discounts on electric models remained steady however this month compared to last month (both 10.6% off RRP) following a slight MoM increase between May and June.
This comes as the Government recently announced a new incentive to make it cheaper for consumers to own an electric vehicle. The Electric Car Grant will allow drivers to receive a discount of up to £3,750 on eligible electric cars. Following the announcement, the share of electric enquiries for new cars priced £37,000 and under doubled in a day on the Autotrader platform – up from 15% to 29% on the day after the announcement (15th July). In addition to this, the share of EV enquiries for all new cars increased by 10 percentage points to 25% on the 15th July.
“July has been a solid month for the new car market as visits to our new car platform continue to rise year on year. Although consumer demand for new EVs on our platform have been somewhat flat in the last few months post tax and ZEV mandate changes, the recent Electric Car Grant introduced by the government is positive news for manufacturers, retailers and private buyers as this will help support new EV sales. With our data showing that car buyers are already thinking about their new car purchases ahead of the next plate change and the volume of people looking at new EVs has risen following the government funding announcement, it’s more important than ever that retailers take advantage of this and maximise visibility of their new car stock with a highly engaged new car audience”
Most in demand new car electric models on Autotrader in July 2025 ranked by enquiries/leads.
Most in demand new car electric brands1 on Autotrader in July 2025 ranked by enquiries/leads.
Most in demand new car models on Autotrader in July 2025 ranked by enquiries/leads – all fuel types.
Most in demand new car brands on Autotrader in July 2025 ranked by enquiries/leads – all fuel types.
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