Skip advert
Advertisement
Features

Best-selling cars 1965

The Austin/Morris 1100 was the best-selling car of 1965 with almost 160,000 registrations

Austin/Morris 1100 - 1985

Queen Elizabeth II courted controversy in 1965 by appointing all four Beatles to the Order of the British Empire – an honour traditionally reserved for military veterans.

This was also the first year that official car registrations figures were unveiled, and they showed just over one million new cars found homes that year. The sixties were the most successful decade for the 1959 Mini, but surprisingly, it never topped the annual sales charts at home, ranking third in 1965.

Ford Cortina - 1965

Instead, the Austin/Morris 1100 was the favourite, with a 14.3 per cent market share – a ratio that would be almost impossible to reach today. The Ford Cortina trumped its Mini rival in 1965 to rank in second place in the overall chart for the year.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Below it was the Ford Anglia, production of which would end two years later. Vauxhall was also present in the table, but with a name that went on to be discontinued in 1976: the Victor.

Unlike today, there were no foreign models in the top 10, as imports accounted for only five per cent of sales.

Best-selling cars 1965

Pos.ModelSales
1Austin/Morris 1100157,679
2Ford Cortina116,637
3Austin/Morris Mini104,477
4Ford Anglia84,589
5Vauxhall Victor69,854
6Vauxhall Viva58,884
7BMC 1.6 Farina52,503
8Ford Corsair44,943
9Morris Minor44,905
10Ford Mark IV43,204

Click below for the best-selling cars of that year...

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Skoda Elroq and Enyaq get Electric Car Grant approval
Skoda Elroq - front cornering

Skoda Elroq and Enyaq get Electric Car Grant approval

Despite some models costing over the £37,000 threshold, Skoda has secured the government grant on its mid-size electric SUVs
News
2 Sep 2025
New Fiat Grande Panda goes on sale with tiny price and big ambition
Fiat Grande Panda La Prima - front cornering

New Fiat Grande Panda goes on sale with tiny price and big ambition

The newly crowned Auto Express Supermini of the Year is available in hybrid or pure-electric form, with the EV offering 199 miles of range
News
1 Sep 2025
Car Deal of the Day: Enjoy Scandinavian style with the Volvo XC40 for just £296 a month
Volvo XC40 - front full width

Car Deal of the Day: Enjoy Scandinavian style with the Volvo XC40 for just £296 a month

Swedish company’s popular compact SUV is still effortlessly cool, and great value with our Deal of the Day for 31 August
News
31 Aug 2025