Ford Fiesta Dethroned Focus as Britain’s Favorite Car
In 2009, the Ford Fiesta and Focus topped the list of the ten best-selling car models in Britain. New passenger vehicle registrations in the UK fell below 2 million in 2009.
© 2009 Ford Motor Company
Britain’s favorite car in 2009 was the Ford Fiesta. The Ford Focus, for ten consecutive years at the top of the list of best-selling motorcar models in the UK, was pushed to second place. Both Ford and Vauxhall had three cars in the top-ten list of new passenger vehicle registrations in Britain in 2009. The Mini entered the top-ten list in 2009 while the Vauxhall Zafira slipped out of the top-ten list of best-selling cars in Britain.
The overall UK car market declined by 6.4% in 2009 to 1,994,999 new passenger vehicle registrations according to the SMMT. It was the first time the British car market fell below two million cars sold since 1995.
Ford Fiesta – Britain’s Favorite Car in 2009
© Ford Motor Company
In 2009, British buyers bought the Ford Fiesta 117,296 times. For the first time since 1998, the Ford Fiesta managed to top the list of the best-selling cars in Britain.
The Ford Fiesta was the only car model in Britain to have managed to increase volume sales in 2009 – 94,989 Fiestas were sold in 2008, which was good enough for third place last year.
Ford Focus – Second Best-Selling Car in Britain in 2009
© Ford Motor Company
The Ford Focus recorded 93,517 new car registrations in the UK in 2009. For the first time since 1999, the Ford Focus failed to top the list of the best-selling cars in Britain.
In 2008, the Focus was still Britain’s favorite car with 101.593 cars sold in the UK. Not surprisingly, after ten years at the top, the Ford Focus is considered the used car of the decade too.
Vauxhall Corsa – Third Best-Selling Car in Britain in 2009
© GM Corp
The Vauxhall sold 84,478 Corsas in 2009 in Britain. Last year’s number two thus slipped one position on the top ten list.
Vauxhall’s Corsa has been on the best-sellers list of cars in Britain since its introduction in 1993 as replacement for the Vauxhall Nova. the Nova was equally popular in Britain despite a name meaning “Doesn’t Go!” in Spanish.
Vauxhall Astra – Fourth Most Sold Car in the UK in 2009
© GM Corp
The Vauxhall Astra maintained its fourth place on the list of best-selling cars in Britain.
However, only 67,729 Astras were sold in 2009 in Britain compared to over 90,000 in 2008.
The Vauxhall Astra has been on the list of top ten best-selling cars in Britain since its introduction 1981. It predecessor, the Vauxhall Chevette also sold well in Britain.
Volkswagen Golf – Fifth Most Popular New Car in Britain in 2009
© VW Media Services
The Volkswagen Golf maintained its fifth place for the third consecutive year on the list of best-selling cars in Britain in 2009.
VW sold 57,187 Golfs in Britain in 2009.
The VW Golf has been the most popular German car in Britain for decades. The VW Golf has been the best-selling car in Germany since the 1970s.
Peugeot 207 – Sixth Most Sold Car in Britain in 2009
Peugeot 207
The Peugeot 207also kept its place on the top ten-list of most sold cars in Britain for the third consecutive year.
In 2009, 48,037 Peugeot 207s were sold in the UK.
The Peugeot 207 is one of the most popular cars in Europe although it has been outsold Europe-wide in 2008 and 2009 by the Volkswagen Golf.
Mini – Seventh Best-Selling Car in Britain in 2009
© BMW AG
For the first time since the early 80s, the Mini managed to enter the list of top ten best-selling cars in Britain.
Mini sold 39,866 cars in the UK in 2009.
The present Mini is made in Britain by German BMW and is a far more luxurious and expensive model than the small Austin Mini popular in Britain from the 1960s to 1990s.
BMW 3 Series – Eight Best-Selling Car in the UK in 2009
© BMW AG
BMW’s 3 Series has been on the top-ten list of best-selling cars in the UK since 2005.
With 39,029 cars sold in 2009 in the UK, the BMW 3 Series slipped one place from last year.
Despite its carefully crafted exclusive image, the BMW 3 Series in Britain is only more exclusive than seven other mass market car models.
Vauxhall Insignia – Ninth Most Popular Car in Britain in 2009
© GM Corp
Vauxhall’s new Insignia entered the top-ten list of most sold cars in the UK in 2009 at ninth place. Vauxhall sold 36,040 Insignias in Britain in 2009.
The Insignia’s predecessor model, the Vauxhall Vectra exited the British market at tenth place last year.
(Vauxhall trades as Opel in most other markets.)
Ford Mondeo – Tenth Most Sold Car in Britain in 2009
© Ford Motor Company
The Ford Mondeo, with 34,418 cars sold in Britain in 2009, was the tenth most-sold passenger vehicle in the UK.
Last year, the Mondeo was still in eight place overall.
In recent years, the popularity of the Ford Mondeo have slipped somewhat in Britain. During the 1990s, the Ford Mondeo was frequently amongst the top three most popular cars in Britain.
List of Top Ten Best-Selling Cars in Britain in 2009
The top-ten list of new car registrations in the UK in 2009 according to SMMT statistics is:
- Ford Fiesta – 117,296
- Ford Focus – 93,517
- Vauxhall Corsa – 84,478
- Vauxhall Astra – 67,729
- Volkswagen (VW) Golf – 57,187
- Peugeot 207 – 48,037
- Mini – 39,866
- BMW 3 Series – 39,029
- Vauxhall Insignia – 36,040
- Ford Mondeo – 34,418
See also the Top Ten Best-Selling Cars in Germany in 2009.
