MIKE RUTHERFORD

"THE RENAULT GROUP IS GIVING BUYERS WHAT THEY WANT - SENSIBLY PRICED CARS OF THE PURE PETROL, PART PETROL OR 100 PER CENT ELECTRIC VARIETY"

- MIKE RUTHERFORD

CRISIS? What crisis? Throughout 2025, there's been much talk about the German auto industry being in trouble. But it’s clear that VW will remain the top-selling car brand in Britain, with BMW and Audi also in the top five and Mercedes not far behind.

Seoul-sisters Hyundai-Kia have also enjoyed a highly productive 12 months. But my fear for these non-premium Korean brands is that sales will plateau due to two major problems: high retail prices (top versions of the Ioniq 9 cost almost £78k, and the EV9 is more than £82k) and, er, China. The former can be easily solved with the introduction of affordable price tags. The latter is an incurable problem, because sales of more reasonably priced BYD and Omoda cars are both up by around 500 per cent year on year, and Jaecoo is growing at an even more dramatic rate.