Best-selling cars of 2021
We reveal Britain’s best-selling cars for 2021 so far
Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have revealed the struggle new car sales is facing. July has proved to be an especially poor month with sales down 29.5 per cent on the corresponding month in 2020. The ongoing pandemic and a global semiconductor shortage have both been referenced by the SMMT as factors affecting the latest sales numbers.
There is some hope however. 2021 is performing much better than the previous year as the UK returns to some normality. New car sales are up 24.7 per cent for the year-to-date and many are switching to electric vehicles with a 117.4 per cent increase of new EV sales from 2020.
However there's still a long way to go before sales recover to the levels pre-Covid. To help counter the lockdown effect, a growing number of companies have been offering online car buying solutions, from click and collect to home delivery, that can get you a new vehicle in socially distanced safety.
As far as individual model results go, the Vauxhall Corsa is leading the way so far in 2021 with a total of 26,215 units sold, but this relatively low figure only indicates the struggles the industry faces as we emerge from the pandemic.
The usually dominant Ford Fiesta has had a poor start to the year by its own high standards, although it remains second overall. Meanwhile Volkswagen will be celebrating the achievement of its Golf hatchback, recording a decent enough July to maintain third overall, closely following by the Mercedes A-Class in the year-to-date table.
The UK's best selling cars for 2021 so far
1. Vauxhall Corsa - 26,215
The runner-up in the best-selling cars of 2020 table is going one better so far in 2021. A new generation of Corsa has certainly helped it put pressure on the Ford Fiesta (along with the all-electric Corsa-e model), but there’s still a long way to go before it can claim the overall title for 2021. The Corsa didn't even place in the top 10 for July, so could its reign at the top be coming to an end? The Ford Fiesta will have to close a gap of over 2,500 units if it's to retain its title.
2. Ford Fiesta - 23,521
The Ford Fiesta may be struggling to find its form in 2021, but while it’s still lagging behind its key rival the Vauxhall Corsa, it gained some ground in July. It was only the ninth biggest seller across the month, but managed 194 more units than the Corsa.
3. Volkswagen Golf - 21,970
The Volkswagen Golf came a respectable third in 2020 so achieving a similar result in 2021 seems a reasonable goal for the German giant - and so far it’s on form to do just that. However, while the Golf topped May’s sales chart, it slipped back to second place in June. July proved worse as the Golf came fifth with 2,362 sales. The arrival of VW's own ID.3 could spell bad news for the Golf as the similarly sized all-electric hatchback could eat into its sales.
4. Mercedes A-Class - 21,186
The A-Class was Britain’s best-selling premium car in 2020. Despite being the smallest and cheapest car in Mercedes’ range, buyers were clearly not put off as the hatchback surged to fifth place. A second-placed finish for April and a fourth place for May suggested the A-Class was cementing its place near the top of the best-selling cars table this year, but the model disappeared from the top 10 in June, and slumped behind close rivals like the Ford Puma and Kia Sportage for July.
5. Ford Puma - 20,853
Ford's controversial decision to name its new small SUV after a 90's coupe doesn't seem to have damaged its sales success. The Ford Puma featured on last year's top 10 despite not being on sale for the full year and its popularity seems assured now with more units being sold so far in 2021 than even the Ford Focus. It was the best-selling SUV of June and fourth best-selling car of July suggesting 2021 will continue to be a strong year for this small Ford SUV.
6. Kia Sportage - 18,941
Dipping in and out of the top 10 in 2020, the Kia Sportage is having a decent 2021 so far. It dropped out of the top ten for March but came eighth in April and sixth in May. It's gone on to secure sixth with an excellent third-placed finish for July with 2,631 units sold for the month. A new model will to go on sale soon, so Kia will be hoping for a late surge.
7. Volkswagen Polo - 18,601
The Volkswagen Polo improves from eighth to seventh place thanks to being the best-selling car for July 2021. The German supermini sold over 3,000 units for the month and things could get even better with the facelifted version due to go on sale in the autumn - which could push sales up even further.
8. Toyota Yaris - 18,125
The Toyota Yaris was the second biggest-seller in July, with the 3,001 units sold to customers pushing the Japanese supermini from 10th to eighth. That's still 500 units less than it managed in June, when it was the seventh best-selling car for the month - highlighting the relatively low sales new cars experienced in July.
9. Nissan Qashqai - 17,812
Despite not having an all-electric option like some of its rivals, the Nissan Qashqai remains a strong contender in the best-selling cars list. Although it's had a July to forget with it dropping out of the top 10 for the month. It seems as if buyers have held off for the all-new version which has recently gone on sale. Still, with the Ford Puma and Kia Sportage ahead, the new car has its work cut-out to retain the title of Britain’s best-selling SUV.
9. BMW 3 Series - 17,188
The BMW 3 Series dropped two places from eighth with a poor showing in July. There’s a chance the new all-electric i4 could also eat into sales of the similarly sized 3 Series as it arrives in showrooms this summer.
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