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Best-selling cars 2005

The Ford Focus was once again the top-selling car in 2005, with 15,000 more registrations than the Vauxhall Astra

Ford Focus - 2005

On 7 July 2005, a series of terrorist bombings struck London’s public transport system during the morning rush hour. That same year, Tony Blair became the longest-serving Labour Prime Minister and Charles, Prince of Wales married Camilla Parker Bowles.

James Blunt, Coldplay and Robbie Williams topped the music charts, which included both physical and download sales for the first time. Meanwhile, Internet access among the UK population reached 70 per cent.

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After three consecutive years at record levels, the local car market decelerated by five per cent, to 2.44 million sales. The Ford Focus celebrated seven straight years at number one in the sales charts, but the most striking development was the push by foreign cars, which accounted for half of the top 10.

Vauxhall Astra - 2005

The Volkswagen Golf made its way into the annual top five for the first time in its 30 years in production, and in 2002, the Peugeot 206 broke the all-time annual volume record for a foreign nameplate, with 101,019 sales – a record that still stands today. Renault also shone with its Clio and Megane.

The BMW 3 Series’ performance demonstrated the UK’s growing appreciation for premium models. Elsewhere, MG Rover production stopped in April, when the company was declared insolvent.

Best-selling cars 2005

PosModelSales
1Ford Focus123,799
2Vauxhall Astra108,461
3Vauxhall Corsa89,463
4Ford Fiesta83,803
5Volkswagen Golf67,749
6Peugeot 20667,450
7Ford Mondeo57,589
8Renault Clio56,538
9Renault Mégane45,706
10BMW 3 Series44,844

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

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