Results for 2023’s new vehicle market show that although Ford has firmly lost its crown overall it can still proudly claim to produce the UK’s biggest-selling car and van.
And it did so during the year when it announced the long-lived Fiesta supermini would cease to be produced. Fiesta was often the UK’s biggest seller for many years, but in 2023 it was the Ford Puma SUV which topped the table. It accounted for one in three Ford new cars sold in 2023.
Ford of Britain managing director Lisa Brankin said: “I’m delighted that Puma was both the bestselling vehicle and car in the UK and Transit Custom was the bestselling commercial vehicle in 2023. This terrific achievement in 2023 is a great foundation for us to build on as we step forward into 2024 and roll out our electrification plan at pace in both the car and van markets.”
Audi UK ended 2023 as the UK’s number one premium car brand – the third consecutive year the brand has achieved this feat. A total of 137,489 new vehicle sales placed the brand third overall in the new car charts with a market share of 7.22% – a record figure for Audi UK.
However its best-selling model, the A3, was ninth most in-demand in the UK.
It is Tesla which could lay claim to selling the most popular premium car. The Tesla Model Y was the UK’s 5th most sold new car overall, and it outsold Audi’s A3 by more than 5,000 units.
The Tesla Model Y was the most popular battery electric vehicle (BEV) of 2023, outselling its nearest rival, the MG4, by more than 50%. The Tesla Model 3 also sold strongly, with 13,536 registrations keeping it narrowly ahead of the Polestar 2.
In the van market, Ford continues to dominate, with Transit Custom then the Transit.
Its Ranger pick-up and Transit Connect also feature in the top 10 best sellers.
Vauxhall was the UK’s best-selling electric van manufacturer in 2023, selling 6,402 electric vans – more than double its nearest competitor. The success of Vauxhall’s electric vans as private and fleet vehicles means that more than a quarter (29.8%) of electric light commercial vehicles (e-LCVs) registered in 2023 was a Vauxhall.
Vauxhall is one of few brands to offer an electric variant across its entire LCV line-up. In 2023, nearly a fifth (18.5%) of Vauxhall’s overall van sales were of fully electric variants.
As editor, Tim is responsible for the media content, planning and production of AM’s multiple channels (AM print and digital magazines, website, social media and contributing to our events planning). He interviews and writes about as many franchised dealer groups and UK divisions of motor manufacturers as possible, to explore the issues facing UK motor retail and understand what solutions dealers and suppliers are using to overcome these.
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