PoloDriver

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) best-selling cars for July 2012 figures have been released, and the Polo holds on to its top 10 UK placing. Selling 2863 units last month, it rises one place from June 2012, now charting at number eight. The Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa still lead the supermini field, though, with Uncle Henry’s small car also taking the number one spot. Volkswagen’s larger and evergreen hatchback the Golf is in fourth place, with 4367 units sold during the seventh month of this year. The SMMT states that registrations in July, at 143,884 units, were up 9.3% on a year ago.

New car registrations rose 9.3 per cent in July, continuing the upward trend seen during recent months. SMMT’s full year forecast is for 1.97 million cars to be registered during 2012 suggesting a slight slowing of demand in the second half of the year,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. ‘International economic stability remains a concern for vehicle manufacturers and the UK market, but intense competition and new fuel efficient products are creating great opportunities for motorists.’ The top 10 UK best-selling passenger cars in July 2012 and for the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 7533 (67,103, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 8800 (52,956, 2nd)
3 Vauxhall Astra: 5211 (35,694, 5th)
4 Ford Focus: 4742 (48,595, 3rd)
5 Volkswagen Golf: 4367 (38,939, 4th)
6 Nissan Qashqai: 3721 (27,156, 6th)
7 Mercedes-Benz C-Class: 3163 (20,780, 9th)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 2863 (25,212, 8th)
9 Audi A3: 2711
10 Vauxhall Insignia: 2591 (20,481, 10th)

(The 2012 year-to-date top 10 best-selling car absent from July’s sales figures is the BMW 3 Series selling 25,515 units in seventh place.)

Latest industry figures released by Jato Dynamics show that the Polo is still popular in Europe as well as the UK, being the third best-selling car on the continent last month. Although its sales slipped 12.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2011, it was still 10 per cent ahead of its longstanding rival, the Ford Fiesta, giving the German car a healthy lead over its fourth-placed blue oval competitor. The Vauxhall Corsa took second place in the European sales charts, while the Polo’s bigger sibling, the Golf, took the top spot. In a surprise upturn, the Renault Megane rounded out the top five. Outside the top 10, the new Volkswagen Up is performing well, too, according to Jato. The top 10 European best-selling cars in June 2012 and for the year overall (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Volkswagen Golf: 39,811 (240,020, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 29,490 (149,553, 4th)

3 Volkswagen Polo: 28,407 (163,818, 3rd)

4 Ford Fiesta: 26430, (171,605, 2nd)

5 Renault Megane: 23,692 (111,191, 9th)

6 Vauxhall Astra: 23,569 (129,774, 7th)

7 Renault Clio: 22,946 (130,638, 6th)
8 Ford Focus: 22,068 (139,108, 5th)

9 Nissan Qashqai: 21,682 (114,586, 8th)

10 BMW 3 Series: 20,112 (91,442, 10th)

The Polo’s popularity is still strong in the UK, according to the latest sales figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) for June 2012. Slipping a couple of places to end up as the ninth best-selling car in the UK for last month with 3378 units sold, the fifth-generation of Volkswagen’s evergreen supermini makes the 2012 half-year best-sellers list, too, selling 22,349 units from January to June. The Ford Fiesta was both the best-selling car last month and the year so far (9063 and 59,570 units respectively), while the Vauxhall Corsa was runner-up with 8800 and 41,147 examples finding homes. The new car market rose 3.5 per cent to 189,514 units in June 2012.

‘Driven by demand from private buyers, June new car registrations grew 3.5 per cent to push 2012 half-year volumes through the one million mark,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. ‘Despite domestic and international economic concerns, UK motorists are responding positively to new products and the latest fuel-efficient technology. The industry has performed better than expected in the first half of the year and we will now need to work hard to sustain growth.’ The top 10 UK best-selling cars in June 2012 and for the year overall (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 9063 (59,570, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 8800 (47,147, 2nd)

3 Ford Focus: 6937 (43,853, 3rd)

4 Volkswagen Golf: 6311 (34,572, 4th)

5 BMW 3 Series: 5830 (23,305, 7th)

6 Vauxhall Astra: 5472 (30,483, 5th)

7 Mini: 4807
8 Nissan Qashqai: 4775 (23,435, 6th)

9 Volkswagen Polo: 3378 (22,349, 8th)

10 Fiat 500: 3324

(The 2012 year-to-date top 10 best-selling car absent from June’s sales figures is the Mercedes C-Class selling 17,617 units in tenth place.)

Once again the Polo Vivo and new Polo have dominated the South African new passenger car market, in sales figures released for June 2012. The sixth consecutive month of doing so, the entry-level Polo Vivo sold 2633 units, while 2326 Polo 6Rs managed to find homes. In addition, Volkswagen Group South Africa reported total sales of 7754 units, equating to a market share of 21.6 per cent. During June 2012, a total of 35,918 new passenger cars were sold in South Africa, an increase of 3.2 per cent when compared to the reported sales in May 2012 and a growth of 14 per cent when compared to the same monthly period in 2011.

‘Volkswagen Group South Africa ended the first half of 2012 in a top position in the new passenger car market. In June, Polo Vivo was again the best-selling brand, and Polo was the second best-seller. Both brands maintained their leadership positions in the A0 segment in spite of introduction of new models in the most competitive segment in the country,’ said Mike Glendinning, Director, Sales and Marketing, Volkswagen Group South Africa.

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 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. Costing from R106,100 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R153,200 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2012 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The fifth-generation Polo (6R) is available as both a three and five-door hatchback, in addition to the traditionally-styled four-door Polo Sedan.

The Polo is still popular in the UK, according to the latest sales figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) for May 2012. Holding firm as the seventh best-selling car in the UK, Volkswagen’s evergreen small car also retained its sixth place in the year-to-date sales chart. In a change of fortunes, the Vauxhall Corsa finally usurped the Ford Fiesta as not only the top-selling supermini, but also the best-selling new car on the UK market. UK new passenger car registrations rose 7.9 per cent in May to 162,288 units, the largest percentage rise for 23 months.

‘May’s 7.9 per cent increase in new car registrations is good news for the motor industry and the UK economy, particularly the steady growth in demand from private buyers,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. ‘There is no doubt that vehicle manufacturers and their dealer networks are working hard to deliver value for money to motorists and the consistent climb in new car registrations during the first five months of the year suggests that confidence is returning.’ The top 10 UK best-selling cars in May 2012 and for the year overall (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Vauxhall Corsa: 8143 (38,347, 2nd)
2 Ford Fiesta: 8337(50,507, 1st)
3 Ford Focus: 6983 (36,916, 3rd)
4 Volkswagen Golf: 5867 (28,261, 4th)
5 Vauxhall Astra: 5433 (25,011, 5th)
6 BMW 3 Series: 3520 (17,205, 8th)
7 Volkswagen Polo: 3228 (18,971, 6th)
8 Nissan Qashqai: 3179 (18,660, 7th)
9 Vauxhall Insignia: 2949 (15,031, 9th)
10 Fiat 500: 2823

(The 2012 year-to-date top 10 best-selling car absent from May’s sales figures is the Mercedes C-Class selling 14,434 units in tenth place.)