Established European brands power strong September plate demand

• New car visits rise 4% year-on-year (YoY) and 7% month-on-month (MoM), pointing to a robust early performance for the key plate month.
• European powerhouses, led by BMW, Volkswagen and Land Rover dominate consumer interest across overall and EV rankings.
• Petrol discounts rise to 11.9%, while EV discounts ease to 10.7% as some manufacturers approach ZEV mandate targets.

The latest data for one of the key months in the car buying calendar shows high levels of consumer engagement across the new car market, with European brands taking a commanding lead in buyer attention on the UK's largest automotive marketplace.

According to Autotrader, new car visits on the platform are up 4% YoY and 7% MoM in September so far, highlighting strong engagement from consumers actively looking for cars. New car stock volume has also climbed 4% MoM, signalling a healthy, robust market as proactive manufacturers and retailers see the opportunity to connect with the UK's largest car buying audience exploring the latest 76-plate models.

European giants lead consumer attention

The September data suggests buyer interest is not being driven solely by price cuts or challenger-brand momentum. Instead, established European manufacturers and familiar nameplates are attracting some of the strongest levels of engagement.

Across all fuel types, BMW surged to the top for overall brand demand, capturing 10.7% of all new car enquiries on Autotrader's new car platform, followed by Volkswagen (9.0%) and Land Rover (8.7%). This overall performance is largely driven by their electric vehicles, with BMW taking almost 10% of all new EV enquiries. In the model rankings, the iconic Volkswagen Golf leads with 4.9% of total leads, while Land Rover demonstrates its premium appeal with three models in the top six: Range Rover Sport, Range Rover, and Defender 110.

BMW and Renault charge ahead in electric demand

In the electric segment, BMW showed strong prominence across both overall and EV leaderboards. Driven by strong demand for the iX1 (second most popular model at 3.7% share) and iX3 (fourth model at 3.4% share), the German manufacturer leads overall electric brand enquiries ahead of Renault (6.6%) and Hyundai (6.4%).

The 'hottest' new electric model in September so far is the retro-styled Renault 5 E-Tech, generating 5.7% of all EV enquiries. In fact, European manufacturers dominate the front of the pack, occupying the top five spots in the electric rankings-including Skoda, which makes a strong showing with two models in the top 10. Notably, Tesla and several newer Chinese market entrants do not appear in the top electric model rankings this month.

Petrol discounts rise while electric incentives soften

Across the market, average new car discounts edged up slightly to 10.7% in September - up from 10.5% in August. However, the picture varies by fuel type, with petrol and plug-in hybrid discounts rising while average EV discounts eased back slightly.

Average discounts for petrol jumped sharply to 11.9% in September, up from 11.3% in August, as manufacturers look to stimulate the overall market and hit their broader volume objectives. Whilst this shift might suggest a shift in focus, it does not mean brands are backing off from electric. Manufacturers that still need to boost electric adoption continue to offer high discounts to drive EV volume and meet ZEV mandate targets. By contrast, average EV discounts dropped slightly to 10.7%, down from 11.1% in August, primarily due to brands like Mercedes-Benz and MG scaling back their incentives as they close in on their required ZEV mandate levels for the year.

The resilience in electric interest follows a record August on Autotrader, where 30% of all new enquiries were for EVs. This momentum continues to be fuelled by petrol prices hitting a four-year high-and rising again in September-directly driving consumer interest toward electric vehicles.

Most in-demand new car electric brands[1] on Autotrader in September 2026 ranked by enquiries.

Most in-demand new car models on Autotrader in September 2026 ranked by enquiries - all fuel types.

Most in-demand new car brands on Autotrader in September 2026 ranked by enquiries- all fuel types.

[1] Based on brands' electric models only