With 2024 nearly coming to a close, the latest data from Auto Trader reveals that interest in the new car market remains strong as visits to Auto Trader’s new car platform grew 4.8% in the first half of the month. The increase rounds off a positive year for the platform, with total visits year-to-date increasing by 15%.
Overall, electric vehicles (EVs) have taken 16.5% of new car leads on Auto Trader in 2024 year-to-date, up from 12.2% the previous year. MG once again tops the charts for the most in demand new car electric brand this year, generating a 17.2% share in enquiries. This was followed by popular German manufacturer BMW with a 10.2% share of enquiries and South Korean car maker Hyundai which received a 6.5% share of leads. Between them, the top three brands accounted for a third of all new EV enquiries this year.
MG dominates with half of the top six EV models
The MG MG4 leads the way for the most in demand new car electric model in 2024, generating close to a tenth of all leads (9.1%), with the Honda E:Ny 1 in second place receiving a 4.4% share of enquiries. Such is the demand for the British badged but Chinese owned marque, MG currently boasts three of the top six EV models with the MG ZS (4.3% share of enquiries) and MG MG5 (3.1% share of enquiries) featuring alongside the Hyundai IONIQ 5 (3.8%) and Nissan Leaf (3.4%).
Discounts on new cars increased slightly in December from 9.2% to 9.4% with 78% of all new cars offering some level of discount off the recommend retail price. EVs continued to outpace the market, with discount levels increasing to 12.1% from 11.9% last month.
Recent uptick in retail demand provides some ZEV mandate optimism in 2025
December has been a positive month for new EV demand, with electric models accounting for one in five (20%) of all new car enquiries. EV demand has been robust since September as manufacturers increase incentives on their models to help stimulate demand in the first year of the ZEV mandate. Despite the incentives, the market will fall slightly short of the ambitious 22% ZEV mandate target for this year and next year’s 28% target is likely to be challenging, but the uptick in retail demand seen on Auto Trader over recent months provides some cause for optimism.
BMW was crowned the most in demand new car brand for all fuel types this year with a 14.8% share of enquiries, closely followed by Land Rover (13.4%) and Volkswagen with a share of 8.4%. Although the Wolfsburg headquartered brand was third, it topped the charts for the hottest new car model for all fuel types with the Volkswagen Golf narrowly pipping the Land Rover Defender 110 to the top spot with 3.7% share of enquiries.
Brand ‘conquest’ led approach needed to capture new customers next year
Recent Auto Trader analysis has also revealed the new car market is predicted to remain just under the 2 million car level next year, rising 2% in 2025 from an estimated (e.) 1.94 million registrations to circa 1.98 million. However, with manufacturers and retailers facing a challenging combination of stricter regulatory targets, uncertain brand loyalty, and more marques and models than ever vying for a share of a still constrained market, a brand ‘conquest’ led approach of attracting new customers will be critical for success.
Auto Trader’s New Car Performance Director, Bex Kennett commented: “December has been a positive month for the new car market as demand for new cars remains robust. With total visits to our new car platform also increasing by 15% compared to 2023, this has been an encouraging sign as we head into the new year as many consumers start researching the new car purchases they want to make between January-March 2025 this side of Christmas. Brands and retailers have remained focused in the last few weeks to help drive demand for new cars by offering more and bigger level of discounts and this has had a noticeable impact as visits on our platform have increased by 5.5%.”
