Record-breaking new UK car registrations for 2015
Record for yearly UK car sales was broken in 2015 as sales topped 2.6 million...
Last year was the best year for car sales yet recorded, with the 2.6million UK registrations in 2015 surpassing 2003’s formerly record-breaking 2.58m.
The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) newly released figures show a 6% increase over 2014, with reports showing the growth of fleet sales besting those of retail.
Volkswagen appears relatively unscathed by its difficult year, and although the brand and its sub-brands suffered small losses in market share, its sales figures continued to grow.
The Volkswagen Group’s value arms Seat and Skoda both suffered a decline in sales, with Skoda losing 0.21% of its share of the market and Seat suffering a heavier loss of 0.35%. It was a similar story at Audi, which endured a loss in market share of 0.9%. The three brands now hold 2.84%, 1.81% and 6.33% market share respectively.
Ford’s title of best-selling brand in the UK was maintained, although it was dented by a loss in market share of 0.46%.
Elsewhere, Citroën, including its newly spun-off DS brand, lost 0.29%, shrinking to 3.04% of the market, while Renault gained 0.19%, growing to 2.87%. BMW grew to 6.36%, a 0.35% increase, and Mercedes' small car sub-brand Smart leapt from 0.18% to 0.32% following the launch of its Fortwo and Forfour models.
Jaguar and Land Rover both reaped market share increases following new model launches, of 0.17% and 0.26%, and both brands continue to chase expansion in 2016.
Jeep’s market share growth was considerable, taking a leap from 0.16 to 0.41%, in part down to the timely and commercially successful Renegade, while Mitsubishi’s 0.64% gain to 0.88% can be attributed to the popularity of the Outlander PHEV.
Mercedes-Benz enjoyed a market share increase of 0.5%, with 145,254 new registrations in 2015 up by 20,835 from 2014.
The Ford Fiesta maintained its position atop the 2015 best-sellers pile, while the Vauxhall Mokka took tenth place, pushing the Nissan Juke out of the top ten.
Top ten best-sellers of 2015
Ford Fiesta - 133,434
Vauxhall Corsa - 92,077
Ford Focus - 83,816
Volkswagen Golf - 73,409
Nissan Qashqai - 60,814
Volkswagen Polo - 54,900
Vauxhall Astra - 52,703
