Top 10: UK car sales 2015

2015 was the best year ever for the UK’s new car market. According to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, there were a total of 2,633,503 registrations. That’s an increase of 157,068 compared to 2014.

Just 29,313 of those additional units came from the Private category. Fleet was responsible for most of the growth, which suggests growing business confidence. It could also be a sign of some extra dealer demonstrator and manufacturer pre-registration activity, of course…

Total UK Car Registrations 2015 - By Category
Category 2015 2014 Change Change %
Private 1,208,812 1,179,499 29,313 2.5%
Fleet 1,317,570 1,178,416 139,154 11.8%
Business 107,121 118,520 -11,399 -9.6%
Total 2,633,503 2,476,435 157,068 6.3%
Fleet + Business 1,424,691 1,296,936 127,755 9.9%

Ford, Vauxhall and Volkswagen remained the country’s three most popular marques. BMW ended the year in fourth position, reminding us that ‘premium’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘exclusive’.

BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer (2015) Front Side
Additional products such as the 2 Series Gran Tourer
helped to increase BMW's registrations in 2015.

Top 10: Total UK Car Registrations 2015 - By Manufacturer
Position 2015 Manufacturer Registrations Market Share Position 2014
1 Ford 335,267 12.7% 1
2 Vauxhall 269,766 10.2% 2
3 Volkswagen 223,784 8.5% 3
4 BMW 167,391 6.4% 5
5 Audi 166,709 6.3% 4
6 Nissan 153,937 5.9% 6
7 Mercedes-Benz 145,254 5.5% 7
8 Peugeot 104,249 4.0% 8
9 Toyota 98,709 3.8% 9
10 Hyundai 88,117 3.4% 11

Although Volkswagen’s and Audi’s year-on-year deliveries rose, Škoda and Seat both went the other way.

The effects of the infamous diesel emissions scandal (first reported in September) are hard to quantify. However, with the exception of Audi, the group’s volume brands appeared to suffer badly during the fourth quarter.

Fourth Quarter 2015
Brand 2015 2014 Change Change %
Volkswagen 41,343 46,166 -4,823 -10.5%
Audi 33,409 32,500 909 2.8%
Škoda 14,548 15,102 -554 -3.7%
Seat 7,134 10,901 -3,767 -34.6%
Total 96,434 104,669 -8,235 -7.9%
Market Total 536,617 518,239 18,378 3.6%

Full Year 2015
Brand 2015 2014 Change Change %
Volkswagen 223,784 214,828 8,956 4.2%
Audi 166,709 158,987 7,722 4.9%
Škoda 74,692 75,488 -796 -1.1%
Seat 47,654 53,512 -5,858 -11.0%
Total 512,839 502,815 10,024 2.0%
Market Total 2,633,503 2,476,435 157,068 6.3%

Turning to individual model performances, the league table was fairly predictable.

Most of the movements seemed to centre on Vauxhall. Corsa and Mokka climbed into second and tenth places respectively, but the introduction of a new Astra understandably saw the firm’s C-segment contender slip from fifth to seventh spot.

Vauxhall Corsa VXR (2015) Front Side 1
Still some way behind the Fiesta in volume terms, but the Vauxhall
Corsa became the UK's runner-up car. (Image © General Motors.)

The Fiat 500 and Nissan Juke disappeared from the top ten, while the Mini Hatch moved up to ninth. Otherwise, everything was pretty much identical to 2014.

Top 10: Total UK Car Registrations 2015 - By Model
Position Model Registrations Market Share
1 Ford Fiesta 133,434 5.1%
2 Vauxhall Corsa 92,077 3.5%
3 Ford Focus 83,816 3.2%
4 Volkswagen Golf 73,409 2.8%
5 Nissan Qashqai 60,814 2.3%
6 Volkswagen Polo 54,900 2.1%
7 Vauxhall Astra 52,703 2.0%
8 Audi A3 47,653 1.8%
9 Mini Hatch 47,076 1.8%
10 Vauxhall Mokka 45,399 1.7%

Related posts:
Top 10: New cars due in 2016
Top 10: UK car sales 2014

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