PoloDriver

The Volkswagen Polo may have slipped out of the UK’s top 10 best-selling cars chart for February 2015, but in Europe it’s still doing big business. A total of 21,495 Polos were sold across Europe last month (45,102 for the year-to-date), a 7.2 per cent increase on the same period in 2014. It was the second most popular car across the continent during February.

What was number one? The Golf, of course. In a repeat of January, the ever-dependable Volkswagen family hatchback ruled the roost, selling 36,292 examples. A 5.8 per cent boost over the same period in 2014, the popular Renault Clio rounded off the top three, only 91 units behind the Polo.

The new Volkswagen Passat helped increase that particular nameplate’s sales by 63.8 per cent year-on-year compared to last February. A year-to-date increase of 44 per cent made it the most improved performer across both measures among the top 10 best-selling models, where it placed eighth.

Once again, the picture was an upbeat one. European new car sales for February were up a total of 7.8 per cent over the same period last year, JATO Dynamics’ latest figures state. Volkswagen, Ford and Renault were again the best-selling brands, while the five biggest markets in Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) all recorded growth, as was the case in January.

The top 10 best-selling cars in Europe (sales figure in thousands) in February 2015 were as follows:

1 Volkswagen Golf: 36,292

2 Volkswagen Polo: 21,495

3 Renault Clio: 21,406

4 Ford Fiesta: 17,053
5 Peugeot 208: 16,047

6 Vauxhall/Opel Corsa: 16,719
7 Skoda Octavia: 16,407
8 Volkswagen Passat: 15,711

9 Nissan Qashqai: 15,682
10 Audi A3/S3/RS3: 14,036

The Polo may sit in the second half of the UK’s top 10 best-selling car chart, but in Europe, it’s a very different story. Volkswagen’s perennial supermini was the second best-selling car in mainland Europe last month. Selling 23,512 units, the total number of Polos that found new homes was up 3.3 per cent on January 2014. And the car that topped the chart? The Polo’s bigger sibling, the Golf.

UK best-selling superminis the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall/Opel Corsa were fourth and fifth in the European chart with tallies of 21,833 and 21,255 respectively, meaning UK buyers are a patriotic bunch. Another small car rounded out Europe’s top five – the Renault Clio sold 22,238 examples in January. The Peugeot 208 was in eighth place and the Toyota Yaris tenth.

Overall, the picture was a buoyant one. New car sales for the month of January were up 6.4 per cent over the same period in 2014, say JATO Dynamics’ latest figures. Volkswagen, Ford and Renault were the best-selling brands, while the five biggest markets in Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) all recorded growth, as did a further 14 countries.

The top 10 best-selling cars in Europe (sales figure in thousands) are as follows:

1 Volkswagen Golf: 41,307
2 Volkswagen Polo: 23,512
3 Renault Clio: 22,238
4 Ford Fiesta: 21,833
5 Vauxhall/Opel Corsa: 21,225
6 Nissan Qashqai: 18,163
7 Skoda Octavia: 17,294
8 Peugeot 208: 16,047
9 Audi A3/S3/RS3: 15,438
10 Toyota Yaris: 15,298

Starting the new year with a bang, the New Volkswagen Polo has landed a place in the top 10 best-selling cars in the UK list, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). January 2015 saw 3,517 Volkswagen Polos sold, placing it eighth in the UK sales chart.

The SMMT states that overall registrations grew 6.7 per cent in January 2015 to 164,856 units: the strongest January since 2007. The first month of the 2015 was also the 35th consecutive month of rises. Once again, the Ford Fiesta was the best-selling car in the UK for January 2015, with 8,674 examples finding homes.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: ‘These figures mark an encouraging start to the year after a very strong 2014. January saw increased uptake of both petrol and diesel cars, while last year’s 9.3 per cent rise in the overall market was fuelled by stronger than expected economic confidence. Demand is back to pre-recession levels following record-breaking growth.’

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

1 Ford Fiesta: 8,674 (8,064, 1st)

2 Vauxhall Corsa: 6,879 (6,879, 2nd)

3 Ford Focus: 4,824 (4,824, 3rd)

4 Nissan Qashqai: 4,676 (4,676, 4th)

5 Volkswagen Golf: 4,387 (4,387, 5th)

6 Audi A3: 3,648 (3,648, 6th)

7 Mercedes-Benz C Class: 3,534 (3,534, 7th)

8 Volkswagen Polo: 3,517 (3,517, 8th)

9 Fiat 500: 3,189 (3,145, 9th)

10 Vauxhall Astra: 2,996 (2,996, 10th)

Volkswagen UK sold 48,004 new Polos during 2014, an increase of some 5,395 cars and 112 per cent over 2013 volumes.

Continuing the trend it enjoyed all year, the Volkswagen Polo ended 2014 in the UK’s top 10 best-selling cars chart. According to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Volkswagen UK sold 48,004 new Polos during 2014, an increase of 5,395 cars and 112 per cent over 2013 placing it seventh.

No doubt helped by the arrival of the refreshed (6C) fifth-generation model, the Polo was placed ninth in the SMMT sales chart for December 2014, selling 3,189 units. The Ford Fiesta found 7,507 homes, while in change from previous months, the Vauxhall Corsa topped the tallies with 8,074 cars sold. Another popular VW, the Golf, was in seventh place.

The 2014 UK new car market grew 9.3 per cent over the previous year, ahead of the EU average of 5.7 per cent*. 2014 also marked a 10-year high for UK new car registrations. 2,476,435 new cars were registered in the UK in 2014 – the most in a calendar year since 2004. The UK remains the second largest market in the EU (behind Germany and ahead of France, Italy and Spain), and recorded the second-largest growth of these top five EU markets.

*January-November data (Source: ACEA).

The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during December 2014 and the year (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Vauxhall Corsa: 8,074 (81,783, 3rd)
2 Ford Fiesta: 7,507 (131,254, 1st)
3 Ford Focus: 6,196 (85,140, 2nd)
4 MINI: 5,375
5 Vauxhall Astra: 4,936 (59,689, 5th)
6 Vauxhall Mokka: 4,099
7 Volkswagen Golf: 4,093 (73,880, 4th)
8 BMW 3 Series: 3,361
9 Volkswagen Polo: 3,189 (48,004, 7th)
10 Nissan Juke: 3,048 (39,263, 10th)

(The 2014 top 10 best-selling cars absent from last month’s sales figures are the Nissan Qashqai in 6th place, the Audi A3 in eighth place, and the Fiat 500 in ninth place selling 49,909, 45,581 and 44,005 units respectively.)

In a familiar story, the Volkswagen Polo is still one of the best-selling cars in the UK, according to latest industry sales figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Tallies for November 2014 see the Polo rise two places from last month – the recently-introduced revised model has no doubt helped the VW small car’s fifth placing. The SMMT states that 4075 new Polos were sold last month.

The Ford Fiesta is unstoppable and once again sat atop the chart, selling 7660 cars, while the recently revised Vauxhall Corsa sold 4,832 units and is in third place. The Volkswagen Golf takes the runner-up spot in-between, with 5440 cars finding homes. The SMMT figures show that UK new car registrations jumped 8.0 per cent in November to 172,327 units, marking the 33rd consecutive month of growth.

The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during November 2014 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 7660 (123,747, 1st)
4 Volkswagen Golf: 5440 (69,787, 4th)
3 Vauxhall Corsa: 4832 (73,709, 3rd)

4 Ford Focus: 4813 (78,944, 2nd)
5 Volkswagen Polo: 4075 (44,815, 7th)
6 Nissan Qashqai: 3947 (47,154, 6th)
7: Vauxhall Astra: 3710 (54,753, 5th)
8 Nissan Juke: 3557 (36,215, 10th)
9 Audi A3: 3451 (42,949, 8th)
10 Mercedes-Benz C Class: 3336

(The 2014 top 10 best-selling car absent from last month’s sales figures is the Fiat 500 with 41,297 units sold in ninth place.)