The UK's best-selling cars of 2022

It's unlikely that 2022 will be a vintage year for many in the car industry. With the early months blighted by supply chain issues, including the ongoing semiconductor shortage, manufacturers were unable to keep up with demand.

Yet as the problems eased in the second half of the year, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed around 1.6 million new cars were registered in the UK last year.

Although that's well down on pre-pandemic levels, it's still a solid effort for the sector, which has seen a number of changing trends. For one, diesel is no longer the second most popular fuel in the country - electric cars have overtaken diesels in terms of market share - while manufacturers have had to prioritise more popular models. That means the Ford Fiesta is due to be discontinued in 2023, having been the UK's best-selling car for many years.

But in 2021, the Fiesta was knocked off top spot by the combined efforts of Ford itself - chips normally used in the popular hatchback were diverted to more important and more profitable vehicles, including the Transit van - and the Vauxhall Corsa, which benefitted from a new model with the option of electric power.

A late charge (pun somewhat intentional) saw the Tesla Model 3 hit second place, and the figures suggest electric cars overall have surged in popularity. With a market share of more than 16 percent, they are set to become even more common in 2023.

With the help of the latest figures from the SMMT, we've been tracking new car sales all year, but now it's time to find out exactly what the British public was buying in 2022.

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See what made the top 10 last year:

The UK's best-selling cars of 2021

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