Top 10: UK car sales Q1 2020

As would be expected given the current situation, the first quarter’s new car registration figures are grim reading. An effective shut down of the motor industry’s manufacturing and retailing operations meant that just 254,684 units were sold during the peak month of March, a 44.4% drop compared to 2019.

For the quarter as a whole, the overall 31.0% reduction was spread equally across the Private and combined Fleet / Business customer categories.

Cumulative UK Car Registrations Q1 2020 - By Category
Category 2020 2019 Change Change %
Private 228,034 330,596 -102,562 -31.0%
Fleet 246,248 354,027 -107,779 -30.4%
Business 9,275 16,413 -7,138 -43.5%
Total 483,557 701,036 -217,479 -31.0%
Fleet + Business 255,523 370,440 -114,917 -31.0%

Amid the gloom, there was an interesting development. ‘Alternative’ powertrain types (electric and full hybrid) achieved a cumulative market share of more than 10% for the first time – 12.5%, to be exact. Fewer than one in four buyers are now choosing diesel.

Cumulative UK Car Registrations Q1 2020 - Powertrain Mix

The full breakdown was:

Cumulative UK Car Registrations Q1 2020 - By Powertrain Type
Fuel 2020 2019 Change Change %
Diesel 108,568 191,785 -83,217 -43.4%
Petrol 314,681 468,414 -153,733 -32.8%
BEV 18,256 5,997 +12,259 +204.4%
PHEV 13,662 8,582 +5,080 +59.2%
HEV 28,390 26,258 +2,132 +8.1%
Total 483,557 701,036 -217,479 -31.0%
Of which: Alternative 60,308 40,837 +19,471 +47.7%
‘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.

Surprisingly, three brands managed to post volume upswings compared to Q1 2019. They were MG (+2,449 units / +81.2% increase), Porsche (+340 / +14.1%) and Lexus (+64 / +1.5%).

Volkswagen recorded a market share of 9.3%, pushing Ford (9.1%) into second place in the process. BMW (7.1%) meanwhile narrowly beat Mercedes-Benz (7.0%) to take third spot.

Despite the chaos, the top ten model list looked very familiar.

Cumulative UK Car Registrations Q1 2020 - Top 10 Models

Related posts:
Top 10: UK car sales 2019 - winners and losers
Top 10: UK car sales 2019

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