Ford (-2.9%) resists, places Kuga at #3 in market accelerating its fall (-20.6%) – Best Selling Cars Blog
4 min read
The Ford Kuga is up to #3 overall in the UK in May.
Hit by the continued effect of supply chain issues, the UK new car market accelerates its fall in May to -20.6% year-on-year at 123,394 registrations. When removing pandemic-hit May 2020, this is the weakest May volume since 1992 and sales are down -32.3% on the 2019 pre-pandemic level. The year-to-date tally is now down -8.7% to 661,121 units, off -40.6% on the pre-pandemic five-year YTD average of 1,113,434 sales. Once again private sales fare better than the market at -10.3% to 66,237 units and 53.2% share vs. 47.1% a year ago as carmakers scramble to satisfy the more profitable demand of this channel. Fleet sales fall -29.9% to 55,649 and 44.7% vs. 50.7% in May 2021 while business sales are down -27.1% to 2,508 and 2% vs. 2.2%. Year-to-date, private sales (+11.4%) are actually up to 358,581 units and 54.2% share vs. 44.5% a year ago while fleets freefall -26% to 287,200 and 43.4% share vs. 53.7% over the same period in 2021. The UK market has indeed completely turned from a fleet-focused market to a private-focused one. Business sales are also up at 13.5% to a much more modest 15,340 units and 2.3% share vs. 1.9% in 2021.
In terms of fuel/transmission type, diesel continues to implode at -50.8% (!) to 7,614 and 6.1% share vs. 9.9% in May 2021, petrol is down -25.1% to 56,767 and 45.6% share vs. 48.4% a year ago, MHEV is off -23.2% to 22,665 and 18.2% share vs. 18.8% in May 2021, HEV is up 12% to 14,561 and 11.7% share vs. 8.3%, BEV is up 17.7% to 15,448 and 12.4% share vs. 8.4% and PHEV is down -25.5% to 7,339 and 5.9% share vs. 6.3%. Year-to-date, diesel dives -51.3% to 38,025 and 5.8% share vs. 10.8% over the same period in 2021, petrol is down -18.8% to 289,169 and 43.7% vs. 49.2%, MHEV is down -8.9% to 121,242 and 18.3% share vs. 18.4% last year, HEV soars 35.9% to 76,624 and 11.6% share vs. 7.8%, BEV surges 71.2% to 92,512 and 14% share vs. 7.5% a year ago and PHEV edges down -5.5% to 43,549 and 6.6% share vs. 6.4% in 2021.
Source: SMMT
Ford (-2.9%) resists very well this time to hold onto the #1 spot both for the month and year-to-date with 8.9% and 7.7% share respectively. Volkswagen (-36%) is in complete perdition but gains three places on April to #2 and now ranks #4 year-to-date (it was #1 over the Full Year 2021). Audi (-29.5%) is knocked down to #3 above BMW (-16.8%). Kia (+3.9%) is the only gainer in the Top 8 at #5, distancing Vauxhall (-17%) back up three spots to #6, Mercedes (-18.9%) and Toyota (-14.8%) all outpacing the market. Hyundai (+11.7%) signs the only double-digit gain in the Top 10. Further down, Bentley (+81.6%), Polestar (+79.1%), Dacia (+58.2%), Porsche (+57.9%), Cupra (+51.1%), DS (+41.5%), Abarth (+32.9%), MG (+28.1%) and Citroen (+13.6%) make themselves noticed with fantastic gains.
After months of volatility, the UK models ranking returns to a bit of normalcy this month, with the May Top 10 looking a lot closer than the YTD one. The Vauxhall Corsa (+20.8%) is back in the pole position it holds year-to-date with 3.5% of the market vs. 2.6% so far this year. The Ford Puma (+13.4%) also ranks like YTD at #2 while the Ford Kuga surges seven spots on last month to land at #3, its highest ranking since November 2019 (#2). The VW Golf (-37.3%) signs its first Top 10 finish of the year (it ranked #1 outright a year ago in May 2021) and breaks into the YTD Top 10 as a result at #9. The Mini (-0.9%) equals its YTD market share at 2% and is down two ranks on last month to #5. The Nissan Qashqai (+40%) continues to ride on its new generation but drops 5 spots on April to #6. The Kia Niro (#8) and Hyundai Tucson (#10) confirm they now truly belong to the UK Top 10, and rank respectively #6 and #8 year-to-date.
Previous month: UK April 2022: Nissan Qashqai signs 2nd ever win in market off -15.8%
One year ago: UK May 2021: Audi outsells Ford for the first time, VW Golf best-seller in market down -14.7% on two years ago
Full May 2022 Top 40 All-brands and Top 10 models below.
UK May 2022 – brands:
| Pos | Brand | May-22 | % | /21 | Apr | 2022 | % | /21 | Pos | FY21 |
| 1 | Ford | 11,106 | 8.9% | -2.9% | 1 | 50,904 | 7.7% | -15.8% | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Volkswagen | 10,502 | 8.4% | -36.0% | 5 | 44,234 | 6.7% | -32.9% | 4 | 1 |
| 3 | Audi | 9,057 | 7.3% | -29.5% | 2 | 46,116 | 7.0% | -13.6% | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | BMW | 8,646 | 7.0% | -16.8% | 4 | 44,050 | 6.7% | -13.8% | 5 | 3 |
| 5 | Kia | 8,530 | 6.9% | 3.9% | 3 | 48,237 | 7.3% | 33.6% | 2 | 8 |
| 6 | Vauxhall | 7,894 | 6.3% | -17.0% | 9 | 37,834 | 5.7% | -12.7% | 8 | 7 |
| 7 | Mercedes | 7,712 | 6.2% | -18.9% | 6 | 39,148 | 5.9% | -21.5% | 7 | 6 |
| 8 | Toyota | 7,170 | 5.8% | -14.8% | 8 | 41,085 | 6.2% | 2.5% | 6 | 5 |
| 9 | Hyundai | 6,955 | 5.6% | 11.7% | 7 | 33,212 | 5.0% | 40.7% | 9 | 9 |
| 10 | Peugeot | 5,056 | 4.1% | -16.5% | 11 | 26,580 | 4.0% | -6.8% | 10 | 11 |
| 11 | Nissan | 4,162 | 3.3% | -10.3% | 10 | 25,973 | 3.9% | -15.6% | 11 | 10 |
| 12 | Skoda | 3,758 | 3.0% | -38.3% | 14 | 18,138 | 2.7% | -30.7% | 15 | 12 |
| 13 | Land Rover | 3,635 | 2.9% | -33.8% | 12 | 18,759 | 2.8% | -42.1% | 13 | 13 |
| 14 | Mini | 3,365 | 2.7% | -5.6% | 13 | 18,461 | 2.8% | 5.7% | 14 | 15 |
| 15 | MG | 3,143 | 2.5% | 28.1% | 17 | 19,695 | 3.0% | 83.0% | 12 | 18 |
| 16 | Volvo | 2,738 | 2.2% | -32.5% | 15 | 16,903 | 2.6% | -24.3% | 16 | 14 |
| 17 | Citroen | 2,727 | 2.2% | 13.6% | 18 | 12,705 | 1.9% | -6.9% | 18 | 19 |
| 18 | Dacia | 2,237 | 1.8% | 58.2% | 21 | 9,739 | 1.5% | 67.2% | 23 | 26 |
| 19 | Seat | 1,892 | 1.5% | -60.6% | 22 | 10,635 | 1.6% | -47.9% | 21 | 16 |
| 20 | Honda | 1,831 | 1.5% | -31.2% | 16 | 11,656 | 1.8% | 23.8% | 20 | 21 |
| 21 | Renault | 1,688 | 1.4% | -28.0% | 19 | 12,635 | 1.9% | -1.1% | 19 | 20 |
| 22 | Fiat | 1,456 | 1.2% | -30.8% | 23 | 9,282 | 1.4% | 40.9% | 24 | 24 |
| 23 | Porsche | 1,454 | 1.2% | 57.9% | 26 | 6,808 | 1.0% | 34.4% | 26 | 28 |
| 24 | Suzuki | 1,432 | 1.2% | -46.2% | 24 | 8,193 | 1.2% | 3.9% | 25 | 23 |
| 25 | Mazda | 1,235 | 1.0% | -52.7% | 20 | 10,203 | 1.5% | 0.5% | 22 | 22 |
| 26 | Jaguar | 1,102 | 0.9% | -53.4% | 25 | 5,532 | 0.8% | -41.7% | 27 | 25 |
| 27 | Cupra | 973 | 0.8% | 51.1% | 27 | 3,828 | 0.6% | 82.6% | 29 | 29 |
| 28 | Lexus | 631 | 0.5% | -50.2% | 28 | 4,286 | 0.6% | -23.9% | 28 | 27 |
| 29 | Polestar | 428 | 0.3% | 79.1% | 29 | 2,275 | 0.3% | 53.8% | 30 | 32 |
| 30 | Abarth | 311 | 0.3% | 32.9% | 33 | 719 | 0.1% | -23.0% | 34 | 34 |
| 31 | DS | 293 | 0.2% | 41.5% | 34 | 1,121 | 0.2% | 67.6% | 31 | 33 |
| 32 | Jeep | 239 | 0.2% | -55.5% | 30 | 1,012 | 0.2% | -38.8% | 32 | 31 |
| 33 | Bentley | 187 | 0.2% | 81.6% | 32 | 752 | 0.1% | 42.7% | 33 | 39 |
| 34 | Smart | 137 | 0.1% | -7.4% | 35 | 698 | 0.1% | 2.3% | 35 | 36 |
| 35 | Alfa Romeo | 129 | 0.1% | -7.2% | 36 | 625 | 0.1% | 12.8% | 37 | 37 |
| 36 | SsangYong | 97 | 0.1% | -19.2% | 31 | 665 | 0.1% | 43.3% | 36 | 38 |
| 37 | Subaru | 60 | 0.0% | -62.0% | 38 | 445 | 0.1% | -25.3% | 38 | 35 |
| 38 | Maserati | 59 | 0.0% | 1.7% | 39 | 315 | 0.0% | 17.5% | 39 | 40 |
| 39 | Tesla (est) | 50 | 0.0% | -97.2% | 37 | 15,702 | 2.4% | 71.3% | 17 | 17 |
| 40 | Genesis | 39 | 0.0% | new | 40 | 188 | 0.0% | new | 40 | 42 |
| 41 | Alpine | 17 | 0.0% | -10.5% | 41 | 118 | 0.0% | 53.2% | 41 | 41 |
| – | Other British | 153 | 0.1% | -35.2% | – | 970 | 0.1% | -8.3% | – | – |
| – | Other Imports | 108 | 0.1% | -56.8% | – | 685 | 0.1% | -18.7% | – | – |
UK May 2022 – models:
| Pos | Model | May-22 | % | /21 | Apr | 2022 | % | /21 | Pos | FY21 |
| 1 | Vauxhall Corsa | 4,399 | 3.5% | 20.8% | 4 | 17,198 | 2.6% | -14.1% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Ford Puma | 3,580 | 2.9% | 13.4% | 2 | 15,426 | 2.3% | 12.1% | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | Ford Kuga | 3,379 | 2.7% | n/a | 10 | 11,568 | 1.7% | 20.0% | 7 | n/a |
| 4 | VW Golf | 2,623 | 2.1% | -37.3% | n/a | 10,174 | 1.5% | -32.1% | 9 | 6 |
| 5 | Mini | 2,538 | 2.0% | -0.9% | 3 | 13,486 | 2.0% | n/a | 4 | 3 |
| 6 | Nissan Qashqai | 2,261 | 1.8% | 40.0% | 1 | 13,596 | 2.1% | -5.9% | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | Kia Sportage | 2,260 | 1.8% | -23.5% | 5 | 13,364 | 2.0% | 0.0% | 5 | 9 |
| 8 | Kia Niro | 2,258 | 1.8% | n/a | n/a | 11,227 | 1.7% | n/a | 8 | n/a |
| 9 | VW Polo | 2,118 | 1.7% | -39.8% | 9 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 5 |
| 10 | Hyundai Tucson | 2,094 | 1.7% | n/a | 7 | 12,214 | 1.8% | n/a | 6 | n/a |
| n/a | Vauxhall Mokka | 1,287 | 1.0% | n/a | n/a | 9,638 | 1.5% | n/a | 10 | n/a |
Source: SMMT
