Volkswagen Polo remains one of the UK’s most popular cars
The Volkswagen Polo held firm as one of the UK’s top ten most popular cars during May 2019. A total of 2,902 Polos found new homes putting it in ninth place for May, and with an overall tally of 19,013, seventh place for the year-to-date. The latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) recorded a third place for the Golf with 4,655 units, while the Tiguan SUV had a tally of 2,785 registrations, placing it in tenth spot. The same two popular Volkswagens were also mainstays of April’s SMMT figures.
Superminis and small family cars most popular
The Ford Fiesta once again topped both charts, with 6,710 and 35,790 units in the May 2019 and year-to-date rundowns respectively. The Ford Focus was second in both lists with totals of 5,556 and 26,789. The Golf was also third in the year-to-date figures, recording 26,020 units.
As with April, overall, UK registrations declined again in May. A fall of 4.6 per cent gave a total of 183,724 units, and while superminis and small family car demand also slumped, these types still account for a majority 56.3 per cent of the market. Alternatively-fuelled vehicle numbers grew again, up 11.7 per cent, and battery electric cars saw demand surge by 81.1 per cent, but these still only account for 0.6 per cent of the overall new car market in the UK. Petrol-powered cars enjoyed a modest one per cent rise.
The UK’s top ten most popular cars during May 2019 and the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) were as follows:
1 Ford Fiesta: 6,710 (35,790, 1st)
2 Ford Focus: 5,556 (26,789, 2nd)
3 Volkswagen Golf: 4,655 (26,020, 3rd)
4 Vauxhall Corsa: 3,993 (24,368, 4th)
5 Mercedes-Benz A-Class: 3,735 (23,951, 5th)
6 Nissan Qashqai: 3,636 (23,847, 6th)
7 Mercedes-Benz C-Class: 3,387
8 Nissan Juke: 2,978
9 Volkswagen Polo: 2,902 (19,013 7th)
10 Volkswagen Tiguan: 2,785
(The 2019 year-to-date top ten most popular cars absent from May 2019’s registration figures were the eighth-placed Ford Kuga, the ninth-placed Kia Sportage and the tenth-placed Mini with 16,724, 15,893 and 15,502 units recorded respectively.)
Polo Vivo rides a sales wave in South Africa
In what is now a very familiar story, the Polo Vivo surfed the dizzy heights of the sales wave in South Africa during May 2019. Topping the South African new passenger car registrations chart, the latest National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) figures point to 2,478 Polo Vivos finding new homes last month. The sixth-generation Polo once again provided a support act in second place with a total of 1,390 units.
