Fiesta is Top Car for Home
The "real" top-selling car in Britain is not the Ford Focus but its
smaller sibling the Fiesta, according to "alternative" sales figures
out today.
The list, from Autocar magazine, strips out business sales from the official 2003
sales figures and concentrates on private purchases.
In the Autocar list, the Fiesta moves up from third on the official list, put out
by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and which includes all sales,
to first place.
Second in the alternative list is the Renault Clio followed by the Peugeot 206, with
the top SMMT car, the Focus, dropping to fifth in the Autocar table.
The difference between fleet sales and private purchases is particularly marked in
the Vauxhall Astra which was fourth in the SMMT list.
But with 73% of its sales in the fleet sector, the car failed to make it into the
Autocar list.
The Ford Mondeo, which was eighth in the SMMT list, also failed to make it in the
Autocar top 10, as 78% of its purchases were fleet sales last year.
Taxed
Autocar editor Steve Sutcliffe said: "Our research shows that the Chancellor
shouldn't be hammering Britain's motorists. They are already the most heavily
taxed motorists in Europe and are switching to smaller, more efficient cars.
"The UK's enthusiasm for cars has not been dulled by extortionate taxes, rising
insurance costs and road charges as the government had wished. The car remains
the number one choice for transport in the UK."
An SMMT spokesman said: "Current predictions are for 450,000 sales this March
alone - the fleet element of that is worth £3 billion to UK. Fleet sales are
hugely important to the car industry and the wider economy".
These are the two sets of top 10 figures for sales in 2003, with the SMMT positions
dependent on ALL sales and the Autocar statistics including only private sales:
SMMT TOP 10 AUTOCAR TOP 10
1. Ford Focus 1. Ford Fiesta
2. Vauxhall Corsa 2. Renault Clio
3. Ford Fiesta 3. Peugeot 206
4. Vauxhall Astra 4. Vauxhall Corsa
5. Renault Clio 5. Ford Focus
6. Peugeot 206 6. Volkswagen Golf
7. Volkswagen Golf 7. Ford Ka
8. Ford Mondeo 8. Mini
9. Ford Ka 9. Nissan Micra
10.Nissan Micra 10. Volkswagen Polo
