Top 10: UK car sales Q3 2019

Figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that 343,255 new cars were registered during the important ‘plate-change’ month of September. In other words, there was a modest increase of 4,421 units (or 1.3%) versus last year, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the year-to-date volume deficit.

As can be seen from the table below, petrol continues to be the fuel of choice with a 66.4% market share. Pure-electric vehicles are certainly becoming more popular though, thanks mainly to a wider selection of products and a growing recharging infrastructure.

Plug-in hybrids meanwhile are still suffering after the government withdrew their eligibility for the Plug-in Car Grant last October. However, demand seems to be recovering somewhat, as 5,179 were sold during September alone. The equivalent number for 2018 was 4,226.

Cumulative UK Car Registrations Q3 2019 - By Powertrain Type
Fuel	2019	2018	Change	Change %
Diesel	499,878	607,212	-107,334	-17.7%
Petrol	1,236,602	1,192,599	+44,003	+3.7%
BEV	25,097	11,299	+13,798	+122.1%
PHEV	22,773	32,144	-9,371	-29.2%
HEV	77,921	67,566	+10,355	+15.3%
Total	1,862,721	1,910,820	-48,549	-2.5%
Of which: Alternative	125,791	111,009	+14,782	+13.3%
‘Alternative’ comprises battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). Mild hybrids are included within the ‘Petrol’ and ‘Diesel’ categories.

Remarkably, the most popular car in September was the Corsa. Vauxhall’s supermini is due to be replaced very soon, so either there were some very tempting run-out offers, or dealers had to pre-register lots of existing stock.

Vauxhall Corsa

Nevertheless, the Ford Fiesta remains at the top of the cumulative model league table. In comparison to the situation at the end of the second quarter, the aforementioned Corsa swapped places with the Ford Focus, the Volkswagen Polo slipped from seventh to ninth place and the Toyota Yaris was replaced by the Kia Sportage.

Top 10: Cumulative UK Car Registrations Q3 2019 - By Model
Position	Model	Registrations	Market Share
1	Ford Fiesta	64,564	3.5%
2	Vauxhall Corsa	47,574	2.6%
3	Volkswagen Golf	46,492	2.5%
4	Ford Focus	45,932	2.5%
5	Mercedes-Benz A-Class	43,293	2.3%
6	Nissan Qashqai	42,485	2.3%
7	Mini Hatch	32,394	1.7%
8	Ford Kuga	30,807	1.7%
9	Volkswagen Polo	30,066	1.6%
10	Kia Sportage	28,227	1.5%

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