New car sales in the UK reached a four-year high in 2012. Registrations rose 5.3 per cent year-on-year to 2.04 million models, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). That’s the highest level since the recession began in 2008.
The Ford Fiesta has once again taken the title of Britain’s best selling car, with sales of 109,265. The Vauxhall Corsa took the runner-up spot, with sales of 89,434, and the Ford Focus wasn’t far behind in third position, with 83,115 models finding homes.
A number of carmakers are celebrating record sales totals, including Jaguar Land Rover, which sold 68,586 cars in 2012, up 19.17 percent on 2011; Kia, which sold 66,629 cars in 2012, 13,014 more cars than it sold in 2011 and MG, which experienced 117 per cent sales growth in 2012, although this is on tiny sales volumes of 782 cars in 2012, up from 360 in 2011.
Reflecting recent problems, both Saab and Lotus experienced the largest sales falls, with Saab selling 232 cars in 2012, down 94 per cent from the 4,138 it sold in 2011, and Lotus selling 137 cars in 2012, down the 329 it sold in 2011.
2012 also saw the fastest growth in registrations since 2001. But despite the impressive figures, the new car market was still an enormous 14.9 per cent down on pre-recession levels in 2007 when sales reached 2.4 million units.
SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said: “Boosted by strong consumer demand, the market grew at its fastest rate for 11 years with innovative, fuel-efficient cars keeping buyers in showrooms. Looking ahead to 2013, we anticipate the market will hold firm.”
Top 10 best selling models in 2012:
| Car make | Total sales | |
| 1. | Ford Fiesta | 109,265 |
| 2. | Vauxhall Corsa | 89,434 |
| 3. | Ford Focus | 83,115 |
| 4. | Vauxhall Astra | 63,023 |
| 5. | Volkswagen Golf | 62,021 |
| 6. | Nissan Qashqai | 45,675 |
| 7. | BMW 3 Series | 44,521 |
| 8. | Volkswagen Polo | 41,901 |
| 9. | Mercedes C-Class | 37,261 |
| 10. | BMW 1 Series | 34,488 |
For an alternative review of the latest Ford Fiesta Hatchback visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk
Disqus - noscript
We are a nation of dull buyers especially the top 5
62% of Ford UK sales are car rentals/fleet sales, we know the top 5 dull car buyers names who are responsible, AA, Avis, Hertz, Eurocar etc.
Ford Fiesta sold 13k more units than last year to retain numero uno. Vauxhall Corsa sold 12k more units to end up behind the little Ford.
Ford Focus at #3 sold 20k more units than #4 Vauxhall Astra. While VW Golf slipped one down to #5.
Nissan Qashqai jumped up from #9 in 2011 to #6 this year. BMW 3-Series moved over VW Polo's to claim #7.
Mercedes C-Class and BMW 1-Series replaced Vauxhall Insignia and Mini in UK's 10 best selling cars.
Ford of Europe & GM Europe both lost billions of $$$ in Europe because they both fleet dump vehicles in huge numbers.
Would like to see Ford reduce fleet/rental numbers reduced in UK from the current 62% halved down to under 30%, and then Ford would start to make a profit on the roof of every car it sells.
Never seen such an appalling set of sales numbers from Ford UK as those in December they have fallen behind both GM and VW the market leader in the UK.
UK December Sales SMMT
1. VW (Audi/Porsche/Seat/Skoda) 18,597
2. GM (Vauxhall & Chevy) 17,088
3. Ford 15,656
No1 Brand Vauxhall 16,272
Whats going on Ford? Selling into low profit fleet/entall markets at 62% is not only losing Ford of Europe billions, sales are also falling big time VW Group have been No1 in the UK all year, Ford always used to be No1 now they are slipping fast, even BMW in 4th place are biting at your heels with 14,674 sales in December.
Fleet sales or not I would agree how boring & dull these figures are! No Toyota or Honda.
Sorry, mate. No offence. But I can't make head or tail of your comment.
According to SMMT figures:
Ford sales increased by 6% in 2012, compared with 2011.
The marque sold 281,917 cars in UK, up from 265,894 in 2011.
December 2012 sales increased 6.6% over December 2011.
This is not good for the British economy 8 of the top 10 cars are Made in Germany.
Good to see the British assembled Astra and Qashqai doing well.
At least Toyota and Honda assembled cars in the UK this year. Hope people have the sense support companies that assemble cars in the UK.
How many of those Fiesta & Focus cars were assembled in the UK, answers on a postage stamp
0, Ford produced 0 last year they were both made in Germany. Not much future for our children and grandchildren in the way of jobs, every time you buy a Fiesta or Focus you employ a German.
Long gone are the days Ford use to employ 55,000 at Dagenham producing 200,000 British made Cortina's a year. Ford have not assembled a car single car since 2000 here, even the vans went last year.
Would rather have a permanent toothache than buy a dull German made Ford Focus, the toothache would be more fun.
Ford's decision to axe jobs here in the UK makes no financial sense to me especially when you take into account the success that the other car makers are enjoying here.
Nissan at Sunderland, Honda in Swindon, Toyota in Derbyshire, Mini in Oxford and Jaguar Land Rover in West Midlands can't seem to cope with the growing demand for vehicles made in the UK.
For me Ford's plant in Dagenham along with its gigantic wind turbine is part of the East London landscape. Its a shame that Ford reneged on production in the UK.
The headline is wrong (although more accurately, registrations are referenced in the actual story). Hardly any private new car drivers are buying - they're renting. An excess of cheap credit and low deposit/initial rental requirements is behind this artificial boom in registrations (even thought the cost of renting is still higher than buying well). The 'have it now, even though I can't really afford it' approach of the credit-obsessed UK punter continues unabated and is encouraged by the banks and all behind them.
I have a Toyota!
Many British seem to think that because a car is seen in large numbers it must be good. Ford, Vauxhall, GM. GOOD. Good for what? Not much.Buy a Japanese
based car. It may even be made here! Mine's a Toyota.
All that l am interested in is British assembled cars, Nissan now is the UK No1 exported car, BMW, Honda, Jaguar/Land Rover, Toyota & Vauxall all export British made cars.
Toyota, Honda & Nissan all have British assembled cars you can buy that have bomb proof reliabity that drive well.
Brits are not buying most of these cars, they are big American multi-nationals, with an American self interest like Herts & Avis that that get to buy up the slack in German production lines at bargain prices in big batches. Ford UK private buyers are running at a very low 38% according to Old Fred, in the last few years.
German made Fords will end up suffering big drop in residual values, Ford will continue to lose big money by dumping its cars in the rentall markets at no profits in big batches, Ford of Europe are losing $1.5 billions so are GM Opel/Vauxhall.
It does not make any sense to me either, UK is the biggest market for both Ford & GM in Europe, GM do the decent thing and do produce vans and cars in the UK as a big polite thank you, Ford produced a big ZERO sweet nothings in assembled British cars this year, how mean & stingy can you get.
We use to have 55,000 employed on the Dagenham building cars like the Cortina and others, today Ford are very stingy just over 1,500 bolting on German made Bosch alternators, Starter Motors, fuel injection/ignition parts etc on to the side of an engine.
All l am interested in is British jobs and the British economy doing well.
If Nissan, Honda & Toyota can all assemble cars here, why can't snotty nosed Ford?
Most of these Japanese models are only assembled here. How much of the content is actually British? The Japanese will assemble cars here as long as it fits their business model and then drop the UK like a hot potato when it doesn't. They are just the same as Ford.
As I point out to petegeoff above, firms like GM and Honda merely ASSEMBLE cars in the UK with a high proportion of imported content. They will walk out when doing this no longer makes business sense in the same way that Japanese electronics firms like Sony, Sanyo and Mitsubishi have done. Look how Mitsubishi have just closed their European plant in the Netherlands and moved production to Thailand. In reality they are the same as Ford.
Ford considered using Dagenham for the Volvo S40/V50/C30, but Volvo wanted production to be expanded at their existing plant in Belgium and this eventually won the day.
Alas only too true. The Japanese stuff is just as bad from the point of view of being boring despite possible other virtues.