Ford continues to be the top-selling automobile marque in Britain, while the Ford Fiesta followed by the Vauxhall Corsa and Ford Focus were the most popular car models in the UK during the first half of 2012.
2012 started off surprisingly well for the British car market with an increase of 2.7% in new passenger vehicle registrations during the first six months of the year. Ford, Vauxhall, and Volkswagen were again the best-selling car manufacturers and marques while the most popular car models were the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa, Ford Focus, and VW Golf.
New passenger vehicle registrations in the UK increased by 2.7% to 1,057,680 cars during the first half of 2012. In contrast, other major European markets such as Germany (+0.7%) and France (-14%) were relatively weak.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Britain in 2012 (First Half)
The best-selling cars by brand in the UK during the first half of 2012 according to car sales statistics released by the SMMT were:
| MARQUE | 2012 | % Market share | 2011 | % Market share | % Change | |
| Â | Total | 1,057,680 | Â | 1,029,638 | Â | 2.72 |
| 1 | Ford | 150,378 | 14.22 | 144,481 | 14.03 | 4.08 |
| 2 | Vauxhall | 115,932 | 10.96 | 127,459 | 12.38 | -9.04 |
| 3 | Volkswagen | 95,805 | 9.06 | 94,332 | 9.16 | 1.56 |
| 4 | Audi | 66,005 | 6.24 | 61,921 | 6.01 | 6.60 |
| 5 | BMW | 64,514 | 6.10 | 60,606 | 5.89 | 6.45 |
| 6 | Nissan | 53,977 | 5.10 | 48,671 | 4.73 | 10.90 |
| 7 | Peugeot | 52,482 | 4.96 | 51,267 | 4.98 | 2.37 |
| 8 | Mercedes-Benz | 47,790 | 4.52 | 41,692 | 4.05 | 14.63 |
| 9 | Toyota | 45,299 | 4.28 | 38,312 | 3.72 | 18.24 |
| 10 | Citroen | 37,330 | 3.53 | 35,985 | 3.49 | 3.74 |
| 11 | Hyundai | 35,168 | 3.33 | 31,576 | 3.07 | 11.38 |
| 12 | Kia | 33,478 | 3.17 | 27,281 | 2.65 | 22.72 |
| 13 | Skoda | 28,076 | 2.65 | 24,234 | 2.35 | 15.85 |
| 14 | Honda | 27,511 | 2.60 | 26,023 | 2.53 | 5.72 |
| 15 | Land Rover | 26,075 | 2.47 | 19,960 | 1.94 | 30.64 |
| 16 | Fiat | 25,485 | 2.41 | 23,126 | 2.25 | 10.20 |
| 17 | MINI | 24,614 | 2.33 | 24,620 | 2.39 | -0.02 |
| 18 | Renault | 19,575 | 1.85 | 36,814 | 3.58 | -46.83 |
| 19 | SEAT | 19,186 | 1.81 | 18,500 | 1.80 | 3.71 |
| 20 | Volvo | 17,297 | 1.64 | 17,831 | 1.73 | -2.99 |
| 21 | Mazda | 15,034 | 1.42 | 17,463 | 1.70 | -13.91 |
| 22 | Suzuki | 12,768 | 1.21 | 10,599 | 1.03 | 20.46 |
| 23 | Chevrolet | 8,811 | 0.83 | 6,942 | 0.67 | 26.92 |
| 24 | Jaguar | 7,107 | 0.67 | 6,888 | 0.67 | 3.18 |
| 25 | Lexus | 4,751 | 0.45 | 4,114 | 0.40 | 15.48 |
| 26 | Alfa Romeo | 4,158 | 0.39 | 6,488 | 0.63 | -35.91 |
| 27 | Porsche | 3,939 | 0.37 | 2,959 | 0.29 | 33.12 |
| 28 | Mitsubishi | 3,549 | 0.34 | 6,112 | 0.59 | -41.93 |
| 29 | smart | 2,682 | 0.25 | 2,798 | 0.27 | -4.15 |
| 30 | Chrysler | 1,606 | 0.15 | 313 | 0.03 | 413.10 |
Top-Selling Car Brands in the UK in 2012 (First Half)
Ford easily maintained its position as Britain’s leading car brand during the first half of 2012 by increasing sales by 4% and taking a slightly bigger share of the market. Vauxhall maintained its second place but was the only top manufacturer to sell fewer cars in the UK during the first six months of 2012.
The German trio of Volkswagen, Audi, and BMW maintained their relative positions from a year before although VW slightly underperformed compared to the general market. Solid growth for Mercedes-Benz saw it maintaining its eighth position.
Peugeot slipped one place while sister company Citroen improved one place from eleventh to tenth. French manufacturers are generally struggling Europe wide with Renault (-47%) dropping in Britain from tenth last year to 18th.
Japanese brands generally saw stronger sales after the very challenging 2011 with Nissan improving one place and Toyota remaining at ninth. South Korean car manufacturers continue to make inroads in the British car market with Hyundai (+11%) at eleventh and Kia (+23%) at twelfth.
Top Ten Best-Selling Car Models in Britain in 2012 (First Half)
The ten best-selling car models in the UK during the first six months of 2012 according to SMMT car sales statistics were:
| 1 | Ford Fiesta | 59,570 |
| 2 | Vauxhall Corsa | 47,147 |
| 3 | Ford Focus | 43,853 |
| 4 | Volkswagen Golf | 34,572 |
| 5 | Vauxhall Astra | 30,483 |
| 6 | Nissan Qashqai | 23,435 |
| 7 | BMW 3 Series | 23,035 |
| 8 | Volkswagen Polo | 22,349 |
| 9 | Vauxhall Insignia | 17,890 |
| 10 | Mercedes C-Class | 17,617 |
The Nissan Qashqai and Vauxhall Insignia swapped positions, as did the BMW 3-Series and VW Polo. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class entered the top ten at the expense of the Mini.
