2012 (Half Year) Best-Selling Cars by Brand and Model in the UK

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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.

Ford Fiesta - Britain's Favorite Car
Ford Fiesta – Britain’s Favorite Car @ Ford Motor Company

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
  Total 1,057,680   1,029,638   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
 Compared to full-year 2011, the Ford Fiesta remained Britain’s favorite new car while the Corsa improved one place at the expense of the Ford Focus. The VW Golf pulled clear from the Vauxhall Astra but relative positions were unchanged.

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.

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.