Vauxhall On Top As Sales Fall Short

New car sales have plunged to their lowest level since 2000, with February's total down a massive 15.7 per cent on the same month last year. Just over 77,000 vehicles were sold in the UK; in February 2004, 91,460 models found new homes.

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09th March 2005

And for the first time in five years, Ford has been deposed from its position as market leader by Vauxhall. Official figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed the blue oval took 15.19 per cent of the UK market. But its Luton-based rival pipped it at the post with 15.33 per cent. The February table shows that with the second-generation model on sale, the Ford Focus remains Britain's best-seller, with 5,453 cars registered last month. The Vauxhall Astra comes in second, with 4,703 registrations.

However, the figures don't tell the whole story; the Focus count includes the Focus C-MAX compact MPV, while its Vauxhall equivalent, the Zafira, is figured separately. It sold a further 1,541 units and came in at number 10 on the list. If you take the C-MAX out of the equation, the Astra is actually the number one seller.

Despite the drop in numbers, dealers remain optimistic. The launch of the 05-plate this month means there should be around 437,000 cars sold.
However, the final tally for 2005 is forecast to be down slightly on 2004's total of more than 2.5million new registrations. On the plus side, the diesel market in particular is growing, currently accounting for 36.6 per cent of total UK sales.