2013 UK automotive sales highest since 2007

By Damion Smy

Motor Industry

07 January 2014 10:48

The UK car market is showing further buoyancy with 2,264,737 sales in 2013, up from 2,044,069 in 2012. The 10.8% increase makes the UK the best performing market in Europe, exceeding its forecast by posting its highest sales figures since 2007.

Top of the charts once again is the Ford Fiesta, which sold almost 13,000 additional units than in 2012, with its stablemate, the Ford Focus, graduating to the runner-up spot to push the Vauxhall Corsa third. The Vauxhall Astra came fourth, with the VW Golf was fifth and Nissan’s Qashqai was sixth. The soon-to-be-replaced Mercedes C-class dropped out of the top 10, with the Peugeot 208 making the cut with 38,616 sales.

That’s no surprise, as the supermini segment remains the largest, accounting for 35.9% of all sales. Diesel engines still are still the preferred choice, with 49.8% of all cars sold powered by oilers, but a 1% drop in share has taken been taken up by petrol models, which won 48.8% of the market. Sales of hybrid and electric vehicles rose a significant 20.5%, with 32,715 sold to make up 1.44% of the market.

Two-thirds of total sales in 2013 were private buyers, an increase of 2% on 2012. December 2013 was the 22nd consecutive month in which sales increased, with the 2014 market expected to show continued growth, albeit at around 1%.

By Damion Smy