The best-selling premium brand in the United Kingdom in December was BMW. Fending off a surging Audi couldn’t have been easy, but the blue and white propeller-badged German brand beat the four rings by 1225 sales. Audi topped Mercedes-Benz by 1495 sales.
Honda, the global whipping boy after a 2011 which never went its way, finished December in 18th spot, behind Land Rover, Skoda, and Mini. That’s not a good thing. Honda sales were down 41% in the UK in December.
In the key two-player battles, Hyundai easily beat Kia. The same could not be said for Hyundai in November. Aston Martin topped Bentley by two cars in the battle of British execu-cars. As for VW underlings, Skoda beat Seat. Among the French, Peugeot nipped Renault; Citroen was third in that group.
Now that December’s numbers are here, 2011’s year-to-date figures take on greater importance. Scan through the table, enlarge the market share chart, and then start examining the 2011 year end UK auto sales figures.
Rank
|
Automaker
|
December 2011
|
%
Change |
Year To Date
|
YTD
% Change |
#1
|
Vauxhall
|
15,782
|
– 4.6%
|
234,710
|
– 5.1%
|
#2
|
Ford
|
14,689
|
+ 5.3%
|
265,894
|
– 5.2%
|
#3
|
Volkswagen
|
10,549
|
– 2.6%
|
179,290
|
+ 2.7%
|
#4
|
BMW
|
7535
|
+ 2.2%
|
116,642
|
+ 6.6%
|
#5
|
Audi
|
6310
|
+ 24.3%
|
113,797
|
+ 14.0%
|
#6
|
Nissan
|
5789
|
– 9.6%
|
96,269
|
+ 7.4%
|
#7
|
Toyota
|
5495
|
+ 13.2%
|
73,589
|
– 15.8%
|
#8
|
Hyundai
|
5422
|
+ 74.5%
|
62,900
|
+ 1.9%
|
#9
|
Mercedes-Benz
|
4815
|
– 9.6%
|
81,873
|
+ 9.2%
|
#10
|
Peugeot
|
4643
|
– 24.9%
|
94,989
|
– 13.1%
|
#11
|
Renault |
4548
|
– 24.3%
|
68,449
|
– 28.4%
|
#12
|
Mini
|
4278
|
– 10.4%
|
50,138
|
+ 14.2%
|
#13
|
Citroen
|
4030
|
+ 13.3%
|
68,464
|
– 6.6%
|
#14
|
Skoda
|
2878
|
– 0.6%
|
45,061
|
+ 9.3%
|
#15
|
Land Rover
|
2747
|
+ 22.9%
|
37,637
|
+ 1.0%
|
#16
|
Kia
|
2509
|
+ 1.8%
|
53,615
|
– 4.5%
|
#17
|
Seat
|
2485
|
+ 21.9%
|
36,089
|
+ 9.6%
|
#18
|
Honda
|
2261
|
– 40.9%
|
50,577
|
– 20.5%
|
#19
|
Fiat
|
2203
|
– 22.4%
|
41,612
|
– 21.6%
|
#20
|
Volvo
|
2001
|
– 14.2%
|
32,657
|
– 12.8%
|
#21
|
Mazda
|
1635
|
– 33.1%
|
31,219
|
– 31.3%
|
#22
|
Suzuki
|
1222
|
– 23.1%
|
20,295
|
– 5.5%
|
#23
|
Jaguar
|
813
|
– 25.6%
|
13,787
|
– 16.0%
|
#24
|
Porsche
|
718
|
+ 17.1%
|
6382
|
– 5.9%
|
#25
|
Chevrolet
|
705
|
– 21.1%
|
12,524
|
– 8.4%
|
#26
|
Lexus
|
683
|
+ 213%
|
8269
|
+ 33.3%
|
#27
|
Alfa Romeo
|
608
|
– 43.6%
|
11,563
|
+ 30.9%
|
#28
|
Mitsubishi
|
469
|
– 45.2%
|
9843
|
– 19.4%
|
#29
|
smart
|
335
|
– 24.4%
|
5044
|
– 34.1%
|
#30
|
Jeep
|
213
|
+ 14.5%
|
2146
|
+ 3.3%
|
#31
|
Subaru
|
131
|
– 66.8%
|
2634
|
– 32.4%
|
#32
|
MG
|
111
|
+ 1010%
|
360
|
+ 27.7%
|
#33
|
Chrysler
|
109
|
+ 19.8%
|
1182
|
– 15.1%
|
#34
|
Abarth
|
78
|
– 10.3%
|
1291
|
– 9.4%
|
#35
|
Aston Martin
|
53
|
– 25.4%
|
1024
|
– 5.2%
|
T36
|
Bentley
|
51
|
+ 6.3%
|
1037
|
+ 4.4%
|
T36
|
Ssangyong
|
51
|
+ 1600%
|
194
|
– 19.8%
|
#38
|
Infiniti
|
34
|
– 22.7%
|
382
|
+ 64.7%
|
#39
|
Perodua
|
21
|
– 43.2%
|
543
|
– 28.7%
|
#40
|
Proton
|
21
|
– 44.7%
|
446
|
– 41.9%
|
#41
|
Maserati
|
18
|
– 30.8%
|
388
|
– 14.9%
|
#42
|
Lotus
|
10
|
– 80.4%
|
329
|
– 43.0%
|
#43
|
Saab
|
8
|
– 98.9%
|
4138
|
– 29.8%
|
Source: Automakers & MTI & SMMT
Red font indicates declining year-over-year sales, bold equals a so-called premium brand
CLICK CHART FOR LARGER VIEW |
Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
UK Auto Sales Brand Rankings – December 2012
UK Auto Sales By Brand – 2011 Year End
UK Auto Sales By Brand – January 2012
UK Auto Sales By Brand – November 2011
UK Auto Sales By Brand – October 2011
UK Auto Sales By Brand – September 2011
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK – December 2011