Car sales up in May as Corsa leads the way

David Ross, Editor
Fri, 08 Jun 2012

Car sales rose by almost 8% in May, the largest increase for almost two years and the third consecutive month of growth. A total of 162,288 cars were registered last month, boosted by a significant 14.3% rise in the number of private sales.

The increase is the strongest rate of growth since the June 2010 when the goverment-backed scrappage scheme was in full effect. There has also been a rise in fleet car registration following a three month decline.

There was no surprise when it came to the top 10 sellers with most popular car in May being the Vauxhall Corsa followed by the Ford Fiesta - the best selling car so far in 2012 - and the Ford Focus. The Fiat 500 was the tenth best seller. More than 860,000 cars have now been sold in the UK in 2012 so far.

Compared to June 2011 the biggest increase has come in alternatively fuelled cars such as hybrids and electric vehicles (EVs). Last month saw a 31.8% increase over the same period last year.

"May’s 7.9% increase in new car registrations is good news for the motor industry, particularly the steady growth in demand from private buyers," said Paul Everitt, chief executive of the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders. "There is no doubt that vehicle manufacturers and their dealer networks are working hard to deliver value for money to motorists and the consistent climb in new car registrations during the first five months of the year suggests that confidence is returning, despite financial uncertainty in the eurozone."

New car registrations – rolling year including private and fleet/business

May		Total		Diesel		Petrol	Alternative Fuel		Private			Fleet		Business

2012		162,288		85,081		75,099	2,108		69,672			87,126		5,490
2011		150,431		79,562		69,270	1,599		60,963			83,121		6,347
% change		7.9%		6.9%		8.4%	31.8%		14.3%			4.8%		-13.5%
Mkt share '12				52.4%		46.3%	1.3%		42.9%			53.7%		3.4%
Mkt share '11				52.9%		46.0%	1.1%		40.5%			55.3%		4.2%

Year-to-date		Total		Diesel		Petrol	Alternative Fuel		Private			Fleet		Business

2012		868,166		443,519		412,502	12,145		396,364			435,501		36,301
2011		846,513		423,174		411,992	11,347		365,406			435,607		45,500
% change		2.6%		4.8%		0.1%	7.0%		8.5%			0.0%		-20.2%
Mkt share '12				51.1%		47.5%	1.4%		45.7%			50.2%		4.2%
Mkt share '11				50.0%		48.7%	1.3%		43.2%			51.5%		5.4%

Best sellers			May							Year-to-date

	1		Corsa		8,413			1			Fiesta		50,507
	2		Fiesta		8,337			2			Corsa		38,347
	3		Focus		6,983			3			Focus		36,916
	4		Golf		5,867			4			Golf		28,261
	5		Astra		5,433			5			Astra		25,011
	6		3 Series		3,520			6			Polo		18,971
	7		Polo		3,228			7			Qashqai		18,660
	8		Qashqai		3,179			8			3 Series		17,205
	9		Insignia		2,949			9			Insignia		15,031
	10		500		2,823			10			C-Class		14,434