PoloDriver

The Volkswagen Polo maintained its position as one of the UK’s best-selling cars last year, ending 2015 at number six overall in the sales charts according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today.

Despite slipping out of the top 10 in November and December 2015, the small VW sold 54,900 examples last year, beating its 48,704 2014 sales tally and seventh place in the best-sellers list. Once again, the Ford Fiesta reigned supreme at the top of the charts, with a staggering 133,434 examples finding new homes.

It was a record year for the new car market in the UK as registrations hit 2.6 million, after the fourth consecutive year of growth. Forecasts were exceeded with a 6.3 per cent rise in demand. The month of December was a record in itself, with demand up 8.4 per cent and 180,077 new cars registered.

The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars in 2015 were as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 133,434
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 92,077
3 Ford Focus: 83,816
4 Volkswagen Golf: 73,409
5 Nissan Qashqai: 60,814
6 Volkswagen Polo: 54,900
7 Vauxhall Astra: 52,703
8 Audi A3: 47,653
9 Mini: 47,076
10 Vauxhall Mokka: 45,399

Continuing its phenomenal success story, the Polo Vivo remains the best-selling passenger car in South Africa, with the fifth-generation Polo the runner-up. 3170 Polo Vivos were sold in South Africa in October 2015 while 2320 Polo 6R/6Cs found new homes. Volkswagen Group South Africa still dominates the local passenger car market with a share of 22 per cent, the sixth year in a row it has done so. The company has sold 76,209 cars in the months from January to October 2015.

Polo Vivo Street
Coinciding with the latest buoyant sales figures, Volkswagen South Africa has also launched a new version of the Polo Vivo to entice younger buyers with a sense of style. The R159,900 (VAT and emissions tax included) Polo Vivo Street gains a style package and new exterior colours, and is only available as a hatchback: no saloon version is offered.

Unique features
Powered by the standard Polo Vivo’s ubiquitous 1.4-litre 84bhp (63kW) petrol engine, the Street is spotted from its lesser brethren by its unique features which include silver mirror caps; 15-inch ‘Cordoba’ alloy wheels; 7mm lowered suspension; and the twin silver stripes on its bonnet, roof and lower front and rear doors. Inside, there is grey stitching on the leather steering wheel, gear lever and gaiter as well as its unique ‘Kadra’ seat trim.

The sporty Polo Vivo GT has also been enhanced with the upgrade of 16-inch ‘Rivazza’ alloy wheels which replace the 15-inch rims the previous version sported. ‘Clark’ seat trim has also replaced the previous ‘Rocket’ upholstery.

Style package
A Style package is also now available for 1.4-litre 84bhp (63kW) Trendline, 1.6-litre 103bhp (77kW) Trendline (Sedan) and 1.6-litre 103bhp (77kW) Comfortline derivatives. Features include 15-inch ‘Riverside’ alloy wheels, ‘Vienna’ leather seats, cruise control and chrome trim rings in the instrument cluster, as well as the ventilation and switch knobs. The Style package costs R13,000 for the Trendline models and R9,100 for the Comfortline variant.

Finally, four new colours have been also added to the Polo Vivo palette. Buyers can now also choose Sunset Red Metallic, Blue Silk Metallic, Pepper Grey Metallic and Honey Orange (exclusively available for the Polo Vivo Maxx).

The Polo Vivo was launched in March 2010 as an entry-level model for the South African market, replacing the Series 1 Golf-based CitiGolf and is based on the facelifted Series 4 Polo sold in Europe from 2005-2009. It is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines.

For more details on the Polo Vivo and Polo ranges in South Africa, visit the Volkswagen South Africa website.

Despite reports that Volkswagen sales fell by 10 per cent in the UK last month when compared to the same period last year due to the ‘dieselgate’ emissions issue, the Polo is still in the UK’s top 10 best-selling cars list, sitting in seventh.

According to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today, 3233 Polos found new homes during October 2015, boosting the car’s overall top 10 best-sellers position for the year so far to sixth.

New car registrations down
Overall, UK new car registrations were down 1.1 per cent last month to 177,644 units, after a record 43 months of growth. The year-to-date figures are up 6.4 per cent, though, with 2,274,550 vehicles registered. Both diesel and petrol engines remained steady through October, though slightly more petrol vehicles than diesel were registered (1,117,306 vs 1,095,601 respectively).

With 8577 examples registered, the Ford Fiesta once again reigned supreme at the top of the October 2015 chart, with the 5061-selling Vauxhall Corsa in second. Another VW, the Golf, finished third (actually up one place from September), with 5,057 cars driven off the forecourts, despite the barrage of publicity and ongoing ‘dieselgate’ issue.

The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during October 2015 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 8577 (116,631, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 5061 (77,896, 2nd)
3 Volkswagen Golf: 5057 (64,257, 4th)
4 Ford Focus: 4913 (73,966, 3rd)
5 Nissan Qashqai: 4544 (54,259, 5th)
6 Audi A3: 3884 (42,137, 8th)
7 Volkswagen Polo: 3233 (48,770, 6th)

8 Nissan Juke: 3155
9 BMW 1 Series: 2944
10 BMW 3 Series: 2805

(The 2015 top 10 best-selling cars absent from last month’s sales figures are the seventh-placed Vauxhall Astra, the ninth-placed Mini and the Mercedes-Benz C Class in tenth place with 45,487, 38,241 and 37,748 cars sold respectively.)

In a repeat of August’s position, the Volkswagen Polo was announced as the fifth best-selling car in the UK during September according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today. A total of 11,026 Polos were sold by Volkswagen UK last month. Seemingly unaffected by the ‘Dieselgate’ emissions ‘scandal’ (no UK-market Polo engine has so far been implicated), the Polo has sold 45,537 examples so far in 2015.

Highest September on record
Once again, the Ford Fiesta was both the best-selling small car and the most popular car overall with 22,807 examples finding homes in September alone, and an overall total of 108,054 units sold in 2015 thus far. The SMMT reports that September 2015 was the highest September on record in terms of sales with 462,517 cars registered (a rise of 8.6 per cent), undoubtedly helped by the now-traditional registration plate change.

It was the 43rd consecutive month of growth. Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive said: ‘September is traditionally one of the year’s biggest months for new car registrations, and last month set an autumn record. With plenty of attractive, affordable deals available on the new ’65-plate, Britain’s car buyers – whether private, fleet or business consumers – were busier than ever’.

The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during September 2015 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 22,807 (108,054, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 15,670 (72,835, 2nd)
3 Ford Focus: 14,258 (69,053, 3rd)
4 Volkswagen Golf: 13,603 (59,200, 4th)
5 Volkswagen Polo: 11,026 (45,347, 6th)

6 Nissan Qashqai: 10,119 (49,715, 5th)
7 Mini: 8,754 (35,679, 9th)
8 Vauxhall Astra: 7920 (42,687, 7th)
9 Vauxhall Mokka: 7670
10 Fiat 500: 7460

(The 2015 top 10 best-selling cars absent from last month’s sales figures are the eighth-placed Audi A3 and the Mercedes-Benz C Class in tenth place with 38,253 and 35,505 cars sold respectively.)

The Volkswagen Polo was the fifth best-selling car in the UK during August, the latest monthly sales figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) state. A rise of two places from July’s chart position, 1911 Polos found new owners last month. In a repeat of past months, the Ford Fiesta was the most popular new model, with 4753 examples sold.

A total of 79,860 cars were registered in August, a rise of 9.6 per cent on the same month in 2014 with gains made across the business, fleet and private markets. It was the 42nd consecutive month of UK car sales growth. 2015 year-to-date sales meanwhile are up 6.7 per cent to 1,634,369 units.

The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during August 2015 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 4553 (85,247, 1st)
2 Ford Focus: 2673 (54, 795, 3rd)
3 Volkswagen Golf: 2456 (45,597, 4th)
4 Vauxhall Corsa: 2154 (57,165, 2nd)
5 Volkswagen Polo: 1911 (34,511, 7th)
6 Audi A3: 1838 (31,334, 8th)
7 Vauxhall Mokka: 1751
8 Vauxhall Astra: 1614 (34,767, 6th)
9 BMW 3 Series: 1337
10 Ford Kuga: 1325

(The 2015 top 10 best-selling cars absent from last month’s sales figures are the Nissan Qashqai in fifth place, the Mercedes-Benz C Class in ninth place and the Fiat 500 in tenth place with 39,596, 28,488 and 27,104 cars sold respectively.)