474,069 new cars were registered during March 2018, a drop of 15.7% compared to the same month last year. Such an apparently dramatic reduction needs to be viewed in context, though.
Firstly, March 2017 saw a spike in demand as customers rushed to avoid revised Vehicle Excise Duty rates that were introduced in April 2017. Secondly, as the graph below from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders illustrates, anything between 400,000 and 500,000 units should be considered ‘normal’ for the period.
The fuel type figures reveal that buyers are continuing to eschew diesel. Indeed, its first-quarter market share fell from 44.0% in 2017 to 33.5% in 2018. Significantly, the ‘alternative’ (i.e. hybrid and pure-electric vehicles) category still only accounts for 5.1% of sales, so petrol clearly remains the preferred substitute.
| Cumulative UK Car Registrations Q1 2018 - By Fuel Type | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel | 2018 | 2017 | Change | Change % |
| Diesel | 240,614 | 360,518 | -119,904 | -33.3% |
| Petrol | 441,182 | 426,093 | +15,089 | +3.5% |
| Alternative | 36,693 | 33,405 | +3,288 | +9.8% |
| Total | 718,489 | 820,016 | -101,527 | -12.4% |
Unsurprisingly, the Ford Fiesta was – by a huge margin – the most popular model.
| Top 10: Cumulative UK Car Registrations Q1 2018 - By Model | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Model | Registrations | Market Share |
| 1 | Ford Fiesta | 32,808 | 4.6% |
| 2 | Volkswagen Golf | 21,203 | 3.0% |
| 3 | Nissan Qashqai | 16,914 | 2.4% |
| 4 | Ford Focus | 15,560 | 2.2% |
| 5 | Vauxhall Corsa | 15,352 | 2.1% |
| 6 | Ford Kuga | 13,096 | 1.8% |
| 7 | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 12,213 | 1.7% |
| 8 | Mini Hatch | 11,724 | 1.6% |
| 9 | Vauxhall Mokka X | 10,885 | 1.5% |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 10,832 | 1.5% |
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Top 10: UK car sales 2017
