Volkswagen Polo rises one place in UK new car registrations chart
The Volkswagen Polo increased in popularity during April 2019, and was the seventh most popular car in the UK, according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). A total of 3,022 Polos were registered in April and its top ten ten chart placing is one position up on March. With a tally of 16,111 Polos registered in so far in 2019, the small Volkswagen is currently – and neatly – seventh in the year-to-date list, too.
Golf and Tiguan also in top ten
Once again, the Volkswagen Golf was in third place for April, moving up once place to second in the year-to-date tally. The Volkswagen Tiguan SUV was one place behind the Polo in eighth in the April set of figures, and the Ford Fiesta again tops both run-downs. The Ford Focus makes up the top three in both lists.
Overall, UK registrations declined again in April. A 4.1 per cent slump to a total of 161,064 units is the second lowest April volume since 2012. In an about turn, the supermini market fell 14.1 per cent, with the small family car segment also suffering a 10.6 per cent loss. Overall, alternatively-fuelled vehicle numbers rose by 12.7 per cent, with petrol electric hybrids the most popular choice. Battery electric cars also grew to 1,517 units, but still only account for 0.9 per cent of the market. Petrol and diesel volumes were down, but not by as significant amounts witnessed in recent months.
The UK’s top ten most popular cars during April 2019 and the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) were as follows:
1 Ford Fiesta: 5,606 (29,080, 1st)
2 Ford Focus: 9,734 (21,233, 3rd)
3 Volkswagen Golf: 3,953 (21,365, 2nd)
4 Nissan Qashqai: 3,791 (20,211, 6th)
5 Mercedes-Benz A-Class: 3,584 (20,216, 5th)
6 Ford Kuga: 3,455 (14,260, 8th)
7 Volkswagen Polo: 3,022 (16,111 7th)
8 Volkswagen Tiguan: 2,822
9 Vauxhall Corsa: 2,728 (20,735, 4th)
10 Hyundai Tucson: 2,702
(The 2019 year-to-date top ten most popular cars absent from April 2019’s registration figures were the ninth-placed Kia Sportage and the tenth-placed Mini with 13,329 and 13,280 units recorded respectively.)
Polo Vivo atop South African new car chart
Once again, the Polo Vivo reigned supreme at the top of the South African new passenger car registrations chart. The latest NAAMSA South African registration figures point to 2,350 Polo Vivos finding new homes during April, with the sixth-generation Polo’s total at 1,165. A much smaller figure, 235 Polo Sedans were registered in South Africa last month.