UK Top 20 Models : 2005-09

The new Ford Fiesta caught the British public's attention
and became the best selling model in 2009

The five year period here was ended with a sharp decline in sales as the world grappled with financial issues. Total sales for 2009 were the lowest since 1995. The Top 10 took the lowest share ever in '09 with just 31%. The Ford Focus had been the best selling model for ten years up until 2008, but was replaced by the new model Fiesta in 2009.

Brands from the USA took six places in the Top 10, while during this time French makes went from three to one. It was 17 years since a Renault model didn't grace the Top 10 as the company decided to stop chasing volume over profit. German marques added a second for the first time ever and even the home nation slipped in a model for the first time in ten years. From 12th to 18th there were four Japanese brands, with the new Qashqai quickly up to 12th.

In the chart, dark grey shows a Top 10 result, light grey 11th to 20th. SA blank space means either out of the Top 20 or no sales.

		Model	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005
	1	Ford Fiesta	117,296	94,989	102,872	103,856	83,803
	2	Ford Focus	93,517	101,593	118,267	119,047	123,799
	3	Vauxhall Corsa	84,478	99,574	94,120	73,923	89,463
	4	Vauxhall Astra	67,729	90,641	113,894	105,296	108,461
	5	VW Golf	57,187	65,029	68,843	62,011	67,749
	6	Peugeot 206/207	48,037	53,462	67,185	33,644	67,450
	7	BMW MINI	39,866	40,736	47,661	38,018	44,770
	8	BMW 3 Series	39,029	49,384	58,544	50,248	44,844
	9	Vauxhall Vectra/Insig	36,233	42,555	50,983	44,389	44,626
	10	Ford Mondeo	34,418	44,150	47,800	48,021	57,589
	11	Audi A3	33,154	32,769
	12	Nissan Qashqai	30,554
	13	Toyota Yaris	30,046	30,342	31,028		33,981
	14	VW Polo	29,975	35,710	36,809	38,152	40,640
	15	Honda Jazz	27,165			30,795
	16	Renault Clio	26,992	34,161	53,907	57,192	56,538
	17	BMW 1 Series	26,324	29,933
	18	Honda Civic	26,088	34,474	44,671	37,485
	19	VW Passat	25,825	30,625	37,206	38,104	35,594
	20	Peugeot 307/308	25,039		32,386	41,939	44,276
		Vauxhall Zafira		43,169	47,813	47,527	40,923
		Audi A4		31,365	33,918	35,436	35,005
		Fiat Punto			36,449	40,790
		Nissan Micra					37,567
		Ford Ka					35,579
		Top 10	617,790	684,546	784,083	729,190	786,789
		% of Total	31.0	32.1	32.6	31.1	32.3
		Total	1,994,999	2,131,795	2,404,007	2,344,864	2,439,717

Data source: SMMT.

Suumary: Both Ford and GM Vauxhall proved resilient with so many models doing well. Germany was replacing France as the main European contributor to the UK market. How would things pan out in the next decade? The final instalment will answer that, and more.

Other years in the series:
65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, 85-89, 90-94, 95-99, 00-04, 10-14.

The new Nissan Qashqai crossover was an instant hit