What is the best electric car to buy in the UK right now?
Answers vary from one ask to the next, and the apps can search the web and remember the person asking. That is why we ask each question 90 times without web search and 36 times with it.
Ask AI for Britain's best electric car and it says Tesla. Let it search, and it says Skoda or Nissan.
Tesla comes first on that question in 26 of 90 answers without web search and 3 of 36 with it. Skoda and Nissan take 19 of the 36.
United Kingdom
Electric cars
Ask AI for Britain's best electric car and it says Tesla. Let it search, and it says Skoda or Nissan.
Measured without web search. The search run comes in the next edition.
The brands AI names first most often, plus any this finding is about.
Named firstNamed at all
90 answers across ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude together, October 2026. These are AI answers, not market shares. The assistants differ.
By assistant, and on your own buyers' questions: that is a Position Map. See a Position Map
From memory · All eight questions
| Brand | Named first | Named at all |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla | 55% | |
| MG | 50% | |
| Hyundai | 57% | |
| Kia | 56% | |
| BYD | 23% | |
| Skoda | 22% | |
| Nissan | 22% | |
| Dacia | 10% | |
| Citroen | 13% | |
| Mercedes | 12% | |
| Renault | 26% | |
| Volkswagen | 35% | |
| Lucid | 2% | |
| Porsche | 10% | |
| Peugeot | 7% | |
| Fiat | 6% | |
| Cupra | 2% | |
| Xpeng | 1% | |
| BMW | 24% | |
| Vauxhall | 8% | |
| Audi | 8% | |
| Polestar | 6% | |
| Omoda | 6% | |
| Volvo | 6% | |
| GWM | 5% | |
| Ford | 4% | |
| Jaecoo | 3% | |
| Chery | 3% | |
| Mini | 2% | |
| Toyota | 2% | |
| Nio | 2% | |
| Geely | 1% | |
| Zeekr | <1% | |
| Chevrolet | <1% | |
| Rivian | <1% | |
| None of the tracked brands |
720 answers across ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude together, October 2026. These are AI answers, not market shares. The three assistants share a favorite on 1 of 8 questions.
With web search · All eight questions
| Brand | Named first | Named at all |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla | 51% | |
| Kia | 48% | |
| MG | 39% | |
| Hyundai | 35% | |
| Skoda | 28% | |
| Renault | 28% | |
| BYD | 19% | |
| Nissan | 20% | |
| Dacia | 10% | |
| Mercedes | 14% | |
| Citroen | 11% | |
| Volkswagen | 25% | |
| BMW | 23% | |
| Peugeot | 6% | |
| Xpeng | 6% | |
| Lucid | 2% | |
| Porsche | 8% | |
| Omoda | 8% | |
| Fiat | 6% | |
| Jaecoo | 6% | |
| Polestar | 2% | |
| Mini | 1% | |
| Audi | 8% | |
| Vauxhall | 7% | |
| Volvo | 7% | |
| Ford | 4% | |
| Cupra | 3% | |
| Chery | 2% | |
| Toyota | 2% | |
| Geely | 1% | |
| GWM | <1% | |
| Nio | <1% | |
| Rivian | <1% | |
| Zeekr | <1% | |
| None of the tracked brands |
288 answers across ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude together, October 2026. These are AI answers, not market shares. The three assistants share a favorite on 0 of 8 questions.
Who sells, and who AI names first.
Places count every brand AI names, so the numbers can jump. "=" is a tie. "–" means AI never names it first.
What it means.
This is one of the most open markets we measure. The three assistants share a favorite on at most one of eight questions, and a new model or a new magazine ranking can move the answer: with search, AI leans on a few motoring sites, Carwow and Auto Express above all. We read this as a market still being settled, so every launch is a moment to check where you stand.
The eight questions.
Cheapest new electric car in the UK that's actually decent?
Best electric family car in the UK?
Which electric car will do 300 miles on the motorway in winter without stopping?
I'm in the UK. Best electric car for a company car with low benefit in kind tax?
I'm in the UK. I live in a terraced house with no driveway. Is an electric car realistic, and which one suits on-street and public charging best?
Best used electric cars in the UK under £15,000?
Are Chinese electric cars any good and safe to buy in the UK?
Is your company missing or measured under the wrong name? Tell us. We correct facts at any time. Results change only in the next edition, for everyone.
Edition 1, Q4 2026. Next edition: January 2027.
Eight buying questions per market, each asked in six wordings of ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude: five times without web search (720 answers per market, 14,400 in all) and twice with it (288 per market, 4,600 in all, in sixteen of the twenty markets so far). Measured 25 to 30 October 2026. Kesterley.
Your own questions, not ours. Position Map: where you stand on the questions your buyers ask, why AI puts a rival first, and what to do first. From $2,500. Two weeks.
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