Top 10: UK car sales 2012

2012 saw 2,044,609 new cars registered in the UK, an increase of 103,356 or 5.3% compared to 2011’s total.

According to figures published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, that was the highest total seen since 2008, with the growth coming as a result of stronger private buyer demand. Conversely, the fleet and business sectors combined remained fairly stagnant, but they still accounted for just under 55% of sales.

Several manufactures did considerably better than the market average, with Land Rover, Kia and Suzuki the three volume brands that each recorded rises of over 20% during 2012.

Ssangyong, Chrysler and MG meanwhile were the biggest winners in percentage terms, even though they remain comparative minnows with a collective registration volume of just 4,990 units.

UK Car Registrations 2012 - Best Performing Manufacturers Versus 2011

Unfortunately, at the other end of the scale it was definitely a year to forget for some marques. Notable among those were Mitsubishi, Alfa Romeo and Renault, which suffered registration drops of 34%, 37% and 40% respectively on 2011.

UK Car Registrations 2012 - Worst Performing Manufacturers Versus 2011

At the top of the manufacturers’ league table things remained pretty much unchanged, as the first nine slots had the same occupants as in 2011. Only Citroën dropped out of the top ten, with the French firm being replaced by Hyundai.

Top 10: Total UK Car Registrations 2012 - By Manufacturer
Position 2012 Manufacturer Registrations Market Share Position 2011
1 Ford 281,917 13.8% 1
2 Vauxhall 232,255 11.4% 2
3 Volkswagen 183,098 9.0% 3
4 BMW 127,530 6.2% 4
5 Audi 123,622 6.1% 5
6 Nissan 105,835 5.2% 6
7 Peugeot 99,486 4.9% 7
8 Mercedes-Benz 91,855 4.5% 8
9 Toyota 84,563 4.1% 9
10 Hyundai 74,285 3.6% 12

As expected, the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa and Ford Focus retained their top three positions in the individual models’ chart.

The Vauxhall Astra nabbed fourth place from the Volkswagen Golf, although the latter’s registration performance would have been affected by the new model launch. Another significant result came from the BMW 1 Series which, after a very strong final quarter, ended the year filling the number ten spot.

Top 10: Total UK Car Registrations 2012 - By Model
Position Manufacturer Model Registrations
1 Ford Fiesta 109,265
2 Vauxhall Corsa 89,434
3 Ford Focus 83,115
4 Vauxhall Astra 63,023
5 Volkswagen Golf 62,021
6 Nissan Qashqai 45,675
7 BMW 3 Series 44,521
8 Volkswagen Polo 41,901
9 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 37,261
10 BMW 1 Series 34,488

Related posts:
Top 10: Car sales Q3 2012
Top 10: Car sales Q2 2012
Top 10: Car sales Q1 2012
Top 10: UK car sales 2011
Top 10: UK car sales 2010

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