Has the arrival of a spreadsheet ever been considered exciting? Doubtful, yet it’s still an annual highlight to download the SMMT’s annual end-of-year new car registrations for the numbers where there’s simply no hiding for car makers, for better or worse.
As ever, 2023’s numbers didn’t disappoint in the stories they produced. It was less a year of chip shortages and supply constraints, more one of falling consumer confidence and the squeeze of a cost of living crisis. Still, the market was up 18%, mainly driven by fleet orders.
So who did what? Volkswagen again claimed top spot in the UK, while Ford grew sales by 14% to take second – a performance it’s unlikely to repeat again now that the Ford Fiesta really is gone.
