Volkswagen Polo steadies its position in January’s UK most popular cars chart
The Volkswagen Polo held firm in the first batch of 2019 new car registration figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), and in January was at number eight in the UK’s most popular cars list. A total of 2,963 Polos were registered during the first month of the year, the small Volkswagen also at number eight in the year-to-date list, too.
Fords in top two places
At number one, the Ford Fiesta kicked off 2019 in the position it has held from what seems like the start of time. Overall, 5,399 units of the Ford supermini were registered in January, with its larger Focus sibling one place below with a tally of 4,397. A figure of 3,930 gave the Volkswagen Golf fourth place, with the third place 4,270-registration Nissan Qashqai in-between the two most popular C-segment cars.
UK registrations dipped 1.6 per cent in January compared to the same period in 2018. A total of 161,013 cars were registered, with the alternative-fuel and electrified market surging 26.3 per cent, the segment now enjoying a 6.8 per cent market share. Petrol car registrations were up 7..3 per cent, but diesels were down 20.3 per cent. The UK’s top ten most popular cars during January 2019 and the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) were as follows:
1 Ford Fiesta: 5,399 (5,399, 1st)
2 Ford Focus: 4,397 (4,397, 2nd)
3 Nissan Qashqai: 4,270 (4,270, 3rd)
4 Volkswagen Golf: 3,930 (3,930, 4th)
5 Mercedes-Benz A-Class: 3,768 (3,768, 5th)
6 Vauxhall Corsa: 3,097 (3,097, 6th)
7 Kia Sportage: 3,063 (3,063, 7th)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 2,963 (2,963, 8th)
9 Toyota Yaris: 2,821 (2,821, 9th)
10 Mercedes-Benz C-Class: 2,606 (2,606, 10th)
Pole position
In South Africa, the latest sixth-generation Polo started the new year in pole (Polo?!) position, topping the passenger car sales chart with 2,512 cars registered. The fifth-generation-based Polo Vivo was second with 2,461 units, while the Toyota Corolla/Auris/Quest rounded out the top three.
