Top 10: UK car sales 2011

1,941,253 new cars were sold in the UK during 2011, according to figures just released by the SMMT.

As expected, that was down on 2010’s total of 2,030,846, but the 4.4% reduction wasn’t quite as bad as had been previously forecast.

Some manufacturers did buck the trend though, recording some healthy percentage increases. The biggest winners were Infiniti, Lexus, Alfa Romeo and the rejuvenated MG, but all are comparative minnows with a combined market share of just over 1%.

UK Car Sales 2011 - Best Performing Manufacturers Versus 2010

Of more significance were the rises of 14.2% and 14.0% achieved by Mini and Audi respectively, with the latter also managing the highest unit growth - 13,969 - of any marque. Indeed, Audi finished the year with 113,797 sales, tantalisingly close to archrival BMW’s figure of 116,642.

Needless to say, for many firms it wasn’t a good year. Unsurprisingly, neither Daihatsu nor Saab did well, but shockingly Smart saw its sales slashed by over a third and Mazda’s decrease was of a similar magnitude.

UK Car Sales 2011 - Worst Performing Manufacturers Versus 2010

Renault suffered the largest volume drop, with 27,159 fewer registrations compared to 2010. Perhaps that massive 28.4% reduction goes some way to explaining the company’s decision to decimate both its model range and dealer network in the UK?

Despite all the year-on-year movements, there was little change at the head of the manufacturers’ league table, as Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and BMW retained the top four spots.

Top 10: Cumulative UK Car Sales Q4 2011 By Manufacturer
Position 2011 Manufacturer Registrations Position 2010 Movement
1 Ford 265,894 1 -
2 Vauxhall 234,710 2 -
3 Volkswagen 179,290 3 -
4 BMW 116,642 4 -
5 Audi 113,797 6 +1
6 Nissan 96,269 8 +2
7 Peugeot 94,989 5 -2
8 Mercedes-Benz 81,873 10 +2
9 Toyota 73,589 9 -
10 Citroën 68,464 11 +1

Ford also excelled in the individual models’ chart, with the Fiesta and Focus occupying the first two positions (as they did throughout 2011).

Top 10: Cumulative UK Car Sales Q4 2011 By Model
Position Manufacturer Model Registrations
1 Ford Fiesta 96,112
2 Ford Focus 81,832
3 Vauxhall Corsa 77,751
4 Volkswagen Golf 63,368
5 Vauxhall Astra 62,575
6 Vauxhall Insignia 46,324
7 Volkswagen Polo 45,992
8 BMW 3 Series 42,471
9 Nissan Qashqai 39,406
10 Mini Hatchback 35,845

Related posts:
Top 10: Car sales Q3 2011
Top 10: Car sales Q2 2011
Top 10: Car sales Q1 2011
Top 10: UK car sales 2010

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