![](https://www.wheels-alive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ford-Fiesta-2020.jpg)
Review of new cars sold in Britain last year, by Robin Roberts.
Ford remained the best selling brand with 9.37% of sales, but Volkswagen is close on its tail at 9.09% while Mercedes-Benz 6.8% and Audi 6.61% have swept past the likes of Vauxhall 5.85% and Nissan 4.41%.
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It was, however, a bumper year for battery and plug-in hybrid electric cars, which together accounted for more than one in 10 registrations – up from around one in 30 in 2019. Demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) grew by 185.9% to 108,205 units, while registrations of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) rose 91.2% to 66,877.
![](https://www.wheels-alive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Tesla-Model-3-leads-UK-electric-vehicle-sales-in-December-2020.jpg)
Encouragingly, there is room for further growth as most of these registrations (68%) were for company cars, indicating that private buyers need stronger incentives to make the switch, as well as more investment in charging infrastructure, especially public on-street charging.
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