By ROB HULL
As we have officially passed the mid-way point of the year, it's time to find out which car have been flying out of showrooms in greatest volumes.
With June in the rear view mirror, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' latest figures have provide a snapshot of which 10 models have been most popular in the first half of the calendar.
Some 1,042,219 new motors have been delivered between January and June, the trade body's bean counting department has revealed, which is a 3.5 per cent uptick on sales compared to the half-way marker in 2024.
And there is a very clear picture being painted - Britons are still very much in love with large, high-riding motors.
Eight of the ten best sellers of 2025 so far are SUVs or crossovers, which now dominate the market despite intense opposition from road safety campaigners, eco zealots and groups rallying to have them banned from city centres or charged extra to park.
Here's the countdown of the top 10 favourite new models of the first six months of the year...
Price: from 37,230
The Tiguan has long been one of Volkswagen's best-selling models, but it hasn't appeared in the annual top 10 sellers list for a few years. Could that all change in 2025, though?
Volkswagen's Tiguan - while not making the top 10 list last year - remains one of the German giant's volume selling models.
Large, spacious, stylish and packed with safety kit, it has understandably been a popular option among family car buyers for almost two decades. Last year, the third-generation version hit showrooms and has been incredibly well received by customers, with 15,223 purchasing one in the first half of 2025.
That said, it isn't VW's outright best performer - that model comes later in this list.
With a wide range of powertrains - including petrols, diesels and plug-in hybrids - there is plenty of choice to be had.
Around one in six Volkswagen's leaving forecourts so far this year have been Tiguans, the SMMT figures show.
Price: from £35,840
Volvo's XC40 is the only 'premium' SUV to make the top 10 order of best-selling cars in the opening six months of 2025. This is testament to the quality of the Swedish brand's compact model
Volvo's award-winning XC40 has amassed 15,267 registrations already this year, which is good enough to secure the ninth spot in the popularity rankings - a feat it achieved in 2024.
Since arriving on the market in 2018, the Swedish brand's first compact SUV has been a real force.
It has picked up a stash of motoring gongs - and successfully turned this widespread industry praise into significant sales.
Today, it is by far the company's most popular model in Britain. Almost half (45 per cent) of Volvos entering UK roads in 2025 so far are XC40s, the SMMT's records show.
A combination of chunky - but stylish - looks, loads of comfort, a contemporary cabin and high degree of safety [as you'd expect from a Volvo] has put this luxury 4X4 among the array of mainstream SUVs tallying up the largest sales figures.
Price: from £36,220
The Hyundai Tucson has cemented itself as one of the nation's most popular family SUV models with another impressive sales showing so far in 2025, SMMT figures have confirmed
The latest-generation Hyundai Tucson has cemented its popularity in the top 10 sellers list in recent years having secured a place in the hearts of the nation's family-car buyers.
It's the sister model to the Kia Sportage [which we will get to soon] and epitomises the rise of Korean brands in recent years thanks to a wave of competitively-priced - and quality - vehicles.
This Mk4 Tucson was unveiled in 2020 and comes with a unique look that might not be to all tastes - especially the 'face' of the car, with its enormous blocky grille that incorporates the headlight clusters.
Sold with a choice of hybrid - and plug-in hybrid - engines, lots of specification as standard and a tech-rammed interior, we're not surprised to see it in this list with 15,596 registrations in the first half of 2025.
Price: from £25,995
The MG HS is not only Britain's favourite budget-friendly SUV but also the nation's most-bought Chinese car so far in 2025
The MG HS is officially the most popular budget-friendly SUV on the market and the best-selling Chinese model in Britain.
It shows the huge rise of the brand in recent years, though having broken into the list of top 10 manufacturers by registrations in 2024, so far this year it is in 13th spot - though it still outsells Land Rover, Volvo, Renault, Tesla and Mini.
The sub-£26,000 HS is currently its most popular model, selling in high enough numbers to take seventh spot in the model chart for the 2025 mid-year point.
Helping to push it over the line was the arrival of an all-new version late in the year, which brought sleeker looks and even more space.
While it is now around £2,000 pricier than the previous generation, the new HS is bigger, has a comprehensively overhauled cabin and the engine options also thoroughly updated, including a new plug-in hybrid drivetrain.
Price: from £28,150
The evergreen Volkswagen Golf has secured its position as the best-selling family hatchback in Britain so far in 2025, amassing almost 17,000 sales in the first half of the year
Having sensationally dropped out of the top 10 best sellers in 2023 for the first time in decades, the Golf clawed its way back into the order last year. And thus far in 2025 it is the sixth most-bought new model, helping Volkswagen to retain its crown as the nation's most popular car brand.
With 16,884 examples registered between January and the end of June, it is set to match the 32,300 sales secured last year.
It also looks set to hold onto its crown as Britain's favourite family hatchback, having eclipsed its Audi sibling, the A3, to reclaim the mantle last term.
The current Mk8 Golf first arrived back in 2020. And while it ticked many boxes for customers it also had major flaws that put plenty of consumers off purchasing one.
The facelifted Golf 'Mk8.5' arrived last year and addresses the biggest complaint customers had with the current model - the clunky infotainment setup and over-reliance on voice controls.
VW designers have instead taken a step back and reintroduced buttons to the dashboard for users to adjust settings on the move with increased ease.
The line-up is available with a choice of petrol, diesel, hybrid and plug-in hybrid drivetrains as well as six trim levels and a choice of manual or automatic gearboxes.
With a GTI version too, there's pretty much a Golf for everyone.
Price: from £24,545
The Nissan Juke has been shuffled down the order by one place compared to the best-selling cars list for 2024. That's despite it tracking ahead of registrations in the first six months
Nissan showrooms have sold 18,527 Juke crossovers so far this year, putting it well on track to exceed 2024's full-year sales performance of 34,456 units.
Despite this increase in registrations, it has dropped one place down the list compared to where it ended last term, as one rival has come out of nowhere to take its fourth-placed spot.
Juke's popularity is in part thanks to an extensive upgrade last summer, which was intended to steal a march on Ford's volume-selling Puma that's secured the number one slot on the best-sellers list in the last two calendar years.
The second-generation Juke, which has been on sale since 2019 and is built at the Japanese company's Sunderland factory, has been updated with a new interior and bigger touchscreen, more technology and driver assistance systems - and what Nissan says is a big step-up in quality.
But it came at a price, as the move upmarket pushed entry prices higher to £24,545 for the small crossover car.
Price: from £19,410
The Corsa was 2021's best-selling new car but since then it's been a mixed bag in terms of registrations. Having dropped out of the top 10 most popular models last year, it's back up to fourth spot in the mid-year report for 2025
Dating back to 1993, the Vauxhall Corsa is part of the roadside furniture in Britain.
Yet, despite topping the sales charts in 2021 after dislodging its biggest rival - the Ford Fiesta - the years that followed have been a mixed bag.
In fact, it failed to place in the top 10 best sellers for 2024. Vauxhall, seeing this decline in demand, reacted last year with a mid-cycle facelift for the current Corsa - and it seems to have paid dividends with the supermini leaping up the charts to fourth overall in the first half of 2025.
The upgrade - mixed with keen finance offers - have given the small Vauxhall a major shot in the arm, and it's £19,410 entry price makes this the only car in the top 10 order that can be had for less than £20k.
It represents excellent value for money, which - when mixed with its blend of economical powertrains, including the all-electric option - appears to be catching the eye of plenty of new car buyers this term.
Price: from £30,615
Nissan's Qashqai remains Britain's best-selling home-built motor, racking up over 22k registrations in the first half of 2025
The nation's third best-selling new model is one that's produced in Britain.
Drivers have purchased 22,085 Qashqais in the opening half of the year, putting it on course to exceed 2024's full calendar sales of 42,418.
It is still by far Nissan's most popular car, accounting for two in five of the Japanese brand's sales in the UK last term.
A mid-life facelift last year brought a bolder exterior design, improved quality interior, revised safety assists and better connectivity thanks to built-in Google. Though it has pushed entry prices marginally higher to just over £30k.
Tweaks to the engine line-up are due before the end of 2025.
Price: from £30,885
Kia has given the Sportage a mid-cycle facelift with a new look and slightly tweaked engine performance. The updated version will arrive in showrooms in a matter of weeks and could trigger a jump in sales
The Kia Sportage - which shares a platform with the Hyundai Tucson mentioned earlier - has continued its huge sales success which saw it jump to the second spot in the sales charts last year, and has maintained that position in the first half of 2025.
It officially gazumped the Nissan Qashqai to become Britain's most popular family-size compact SUV last term, and is a mere 1,000 units ahead of its Japanese rival in the opening six months. That's no small feat for the Korean brand; Qashqai has been the nation's top choice in the segment since the first-generation model arrived in 2007.
The fifth iteration of Sportage on sale now is proof of how far the manufacturer has come in recent years, with the SUV packed with kit and offering a refined ride.
From the third quarter of 2025, it will be improved with a facelift variant revealed only a week ago. It boasts new column-like headlights and a blockier grille. The light cluster is new too, as is the rear bumper. Small tweaks have been made to the engine range too to keep it fresh against the competition.
The 23,012 sold so far this year has it tracking slightly behind the full year registrations of 47,163 from 2024, but the arrive of the facelift within months could boost it further ahead.
Price: from £26,580
Ever since Ford culled production of the Fiesta in June 2023, Puma has taken over the mantle as the brand's most popular model in Britain. It is on course to cement its position as Britain's favourite new model in 2025
It looks like there'll be no catching the Ford Puma again this year.
The Fiesta-based crossover has amassed 26,355 sales - over 3,300 more than its closest rival - in the opening six months of 2025 as it goes in pursuit of a hat-trick at the peak of Britain's new car sales charts.
Historically, Ford has been a dominant force in Britain. In the 54 years that registrations have officially been tracked, a model with the blue oval badge has topped the sales league table an astonishing 51 times.
Its stretch of having the number one car in the UK dates from the Cortina in 1972 to the Fiesta in 2020. Vauxhall's Corsa (2021) and Nissan's Qashqai (2022) knocked Ford off its perch before the Puma reclaimed the crown in 2023.
With the Fiesta - Britain's most-owned car - now resigned to the history books after Ford culled production in the summer of 2023, the Puma has taken over the mantle as the company's major seller.
Once again, it is the nation's favoured super-compact SUV, outperforming the likes of the Nissan Juke, Skoda Kamiq Vauxhall Mokka.
Based on the first half of the year, it is well on course to eclipse the 48,340 registrations achieved in the previous calendar year.
This has partly been aided by the arrival of the new Puma Gen-e electric version, which is on sale now for £29,995 - that's around just £3,500 more than the entry mild-hybrid petrol as Ford looks to bridge the price gap between its EVs and combustion-engine passenger motors.