Currently reading: New car registrations pass one million for 2013
The UK's new car market showed signs of growth in June, recording a year-on-year increase of 13 per cent compared to 2012

Annual new car registrations in the UK car market passed the one million mark last month as the domestic industry continued to enjoy encouraging year-on-year growth.

June was the 16th successive month that new car registrations have grown, and a total of 214,957 units were registered, compared to 189,514 at the same point of 2012. That takes the half-yearly total for new car registrations to 1,163,623, and strong private demand is driving the increase.

The UK continues to buck new car market trends of some European nations, which are continuing to endure sales slumps.

It is believed that enticing finance deals and a desire to buy more fuel-efficient models are two of the key factors driving the increase in registrations. Indeed, the average CO2 emissions figure for all new cars sold in the first half of 2013 was 129.1g/km, down 3.7 per cent compared to the same point in 2012.

Also, it seems that the industry is enjoying a post-recession boom as new car buyers who postponed their purchases during the economic slump now have the confidence to return to the showrooms.

The Ford Fiesta continued its stranglehold on the top spot in the monthly sales charts. A total of 63,040 new Fiestas have been registered in the first six months of the year.

The city car and small hatchback segments continued to show strong growth, although the MPV sector enjoyed the strongest growth in June, with registrations growing by a quarter.

Demand for petrol power continues to outstrip diesel, while alternatively fuelled cars recorded a 26.2 per cent rise in registrations year-on-year. However, alternatively fuelled cars still only account for 1.5 per cent of the new vehicle market.

UK’s best-selling cars for June 2013

1 Ford Fiesta 11,332 units

2 Ford Focus 9128

3 Vauxhall Corsa 8868

4 Vauxhall Astra 7074

5 Volkswagen Golf 5875

6 BMW 3-series 5432

7 Volkswagen Polo 4703

8 BMW 1-series 4678

9 Nissan Qashqai 4507

10 Peugeot 208 3649

 

 

 

Join the debate

Comments
5
Add a comment…
fadyady 4 July 2013

Where is Mini?

Good to see BMW entries in the UK's top sellers but where is Mini. It wasn't long ago Mini used to be among the UK's Top 10.

And I reciprocate @xxxx comments on petrol cars selling better than diesel - which in my opinion is only our return to sanity.

I fully understand diesel in large cars but their place in small cars remains questionable.

Diesel makes sense for high mileage drivers. The rest are better off with petrols - though many a motoring magazines and journalists would tell you otherwise.

catnip 4 July 2013

fadyady wrote: Good to see

fadyady wrote:

Good to see BMW entries in the UK's top sellers but where is Mini. It wasn't long ago Mini used to be among the UK's Top 10.

MINI is almost 7 years old now, and its well publicised that the new model will be released by the end of the year. Even the dealers are pretty open about it, so its bound to have an impact on sales.

catnip 4 July 2013

I wonder if the (nearly)

I wonder if the (nearly) £2000  price cut on the Astra range will help its sales figures. It still surprises me how poorly it sells compared to the Focus, especially as so many people seem to express such a negative view towards the Ford.

The Quashqai still does really well, considering its age, and I wonder if the 500s disappearance from the chart has anything to do with the Adam diluting its sales.

Harry P 4 July 2013

Where is the British exec saloon?

Proof if ever that jaguar need to produce a smaller more affordable model.  With not one but two BMW’s in the top ten there has to be a market for a British built executive saloon.  It too could have the potential of getting in to the top ten selling cars in the UK.