Are There Too Many Cars to Choose From?

There has probably never been a more interesting time to be choosing a new car in Britain.

There has also probably never been a more confusing one.

Spend enough time around cars and it's easy to forget just how complicated the market has become for somebody who isn't particularly interested in them. Those of us who work in the industry casually talk about BEVs, PHEVs, kilowatt-hours, charging curves, heat pumps and driver assistance systems as though everybody knows exactly what they mean.

Most people don't, and nor should they have to.

They simply want to know whether a car is good, whether they can afford it and whether it will fit into their life.

The list of manufacturers keeps getting longer

The number of brands competing for British buyers' attention has grown enormously, particularly as Chinese manufacturers have entered the market.

BYD, GEELY, OMODA, JAECOO, XPENG and others are increasingly appearing alongside names such as Ford, Volkswagen, Kia, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. There are also brands such as Polestar that barely existed in the public consciousness a few years ago but are now established alternatives.

Personally, I think that's fantastic. More competition should encourage manufacturers to build better cars, offer more equipment and become more competitive on price. The difficulty is that customers now have to understand what all these brands actually represent.

I've driven a growing number of cars from manufacturers that many British motorists might previously never have considered, and some have been genuinely impressive. The challenge isn't necessarily building a competitive car anymore. It's convincing somebody to put an unfamiliar badge on their driveway.

Monthly payments change everything

There's another reason why choosing a car isn't as straightforward as comparing list prices. For a huge number of customers, the question isn't really, "How much does that car cost?" It's, "How much is that car per month?" That distinction matters.

Manufacturer support, finance rates, residual values and availability can mean two cars with noticeably different list prices end up surprisingly close together when they're financed or leased. It means the traditional hierarchy of the car market doesn't always work in quite the way customers expect.

A vehicle that looks expensive on paper can occasionally represent excellent value on a monthly payment, while a supposedly affordable car can be surprisingly expensive. That's why I think monthly affordability has become one of the most influential factors in the modern car market.

We're asking customers to understand too much

Electric cars have added another layer. A petrol car might historically have been sold on things such as power, fuel economy, boot space and equipment.

An EV brings battery capacity, WLTP range, real-world range, AC charging, DC charging, maximum charging speed, efficiency and charging infrastructure into the conversation. Then somebody tells you that the advertised 300-mile range probably won't actually be 300 miles on a cold motorway journey. It's hardly surprising that some people decide they'll stick with what they know.

The industry needs to become much better at translating technology into information that actually means something to ordinary drivers. Rather than simply telling somebody a car has an 81kWh battery, tell them roughly how far they'll realistically travel between charges. Instead of boasting about a maximum charging rate, explain approximately how long they'll be stopping at a motorway services.

Specifications matter, but context matters more.

AI could make choosing a car easier

Interestingly, I think AI could ultimately help solve some of the complexity the industry has created. Traditional car searches often begin with a manufacturer or model. AI allows someone to start with their actual requirements instead.

You could ask for an electric SUV with enough room for a family of four, around 250 miles of realistic motorway range, a large boot and a monthly budget of £500. That's a fundamentally different way of searching.

Rather than expecting customers to research 20 manufacturers individually, technology can potentially narrow an enormous market into a handful of genuinely relevant choices.

For manufacturers, dealers and leasing companies, that creates a new challenge too. Being visible when somebody searches for your brand is one thing. Being recommended when they haven't mentioned your brand at all is something quite different.

Choice is good, guidance is better

I don't think there are literally too many cars.

I love the fact that we're seeing new manufacturers, new ideas and genuine competition coming into the market. Some of the most interesting cars I've driven recently have been models that didn't exist a few years ago.

But the industry can't simply keep adding more choice and expect customers to navigate it themselves.

Whether that's through automotive journalism, dealerships, leasing brokers or increasingly AI, good advice is becoming more valuable rather than less.

Because ultimately most people don't want to spend three weeks comparing battery chemistry, boot capacities and finance offers.

They just want someone to help them find the right car.

And in a market with more choice than ever, I think that's becoming one of the most important jobs in the automotive industry.