The MG HS was January’s best-selling car – and Volkswagen the best-selling brand

The MG HS, MG’s larger SUV, topped the UK car sales in the UK in January 2023, but it was Volkswagen the best-selling brand.

We’ve been used over the years seeing cars like the Ford Focus and Fiesta and the Vauxhall Corsa – as well as stuff like the Nissan Qashqai – filling the top ten list of best-selling cars in the UK.

But in a topsy-turvey car market undergoing rapid change, things aren’t what they used to be.

With cars like the Fiesta and Focus now dumped by Ford, and EVs proliferating, it’s no longer the case that modest family hatchbacks rule the roost. And the first sales figures of the year for January 2023 – released yesterday – illustrate that, with eight of the top 10 SUVs.

But, rather surprisingly, it wasn’t a Qashqai or VW SUV sitting at the top, but an MG. And not the trendy electric MG4, but the rather more prosaic, petrol-powered, mid-size MG HS SUV. Who’d have thought it? Not only that, but MG also hit the top ten with the MG ZS in eighth place.

But the MG range isn’t the biggest on offer, so the gong for the top-selling brand fell to Volkswagen with its huge range of offerings, beating Ford in to second place, Audi in to third, Kia in to fourth and Toyota in to fifth.

MG’s Guy Pigounakis said:

We’re thrilled to see two of our best-selling models featured in the overall UK top ten.

The HS model has been hugely important in the growth of MG over the last few years, and we’re delighted it remains so popular with customers. The growth in the electric car market is also very encouraging and we expect the recently launched MG4 EV and MG5 EV models to carry us further forward into 2023.