Best selling cars of 2012

[skyrover]

Thought I would make a list of the best selling cars of 2012 in both the UK and USA, purely out of morbid interest

UK:

1. Ford Fiesta, 109,265
2. Vauxhall Corsa, 89,434
3. Ford Focus, 83,115
4. Vauxhall Astra, 63,023
5. VW Golf, 62,021
6. Nissan Qashqai, 45,675
7. BMW 3 Series, 44,521
8. VW Polo, 41,901
9. Mercedes C-Class, 37,261
10. BMW 1 Series, 34,488

USA:

1. Ford F-series, 645,316
2. Chevrolet Silverado, 418,312
3. Toyota Camry, 404,886
4. Honda Accord, 331,872
5. Honda Civic, 317,909
6. Nissan Altima, 302,934
7. Ram Pickup, 293,363
8. Toyota Corolla, 290,947
9. Honda CR-V, 281,652
10. Ford Escape, 261,008

I think what I find most interesting is the lack of Japanese brands in the British list and the total lack of European brands in the American list.

Obviously the two nations have completely different tastes in vehicles, so I look forward to seeing how companies like ford get around this with their global platform strategy.

[FisiP1]

I lived in Ohio for a while until 2010 but I still can't believe that they still haven't gotten over their love for 'trucks', yes some people need them but nowhere near that many.

I thought the Qashqai was the best selling car in the UK too off the top of my head.

[skyrover]

I can't see the american's ever getting over their love of pickup trucks...

it's part of the national identity, like apple pie and baseball.

Interestingly most of those pickups have V8 engines, so ford probably sold more V8 F-150's than all of the top 10 vehicles in the UK combined.

[ensignia]

You've got to hand it to Nissan; the Qashqai could have been a massive sales flop. Yet it's now an established class leader and outsells many of its smaller, cheaper and more conventional rivals. fair play.

[skyrover]

Indeed... it's the only Japanese car on the British top 10 list.

It's built just down the road from me in Sunderland, so all good news for the local economy as well

[welaye]

skyrover said:

Indeed... it's the only Japanese car on the British top 10 list.

It's built just down the road from me in Sunderland, so all good news for the local economy as well

Yep, massive contributor to the local economy. Worked on the new battery plant for over a year myself, and drove almost every Nissan known to man. Most productive plant in Europe now I believe and I'm not surprised as they've got some really good engineers down there.

I still hate mackems, though.

[barker22]

skyrover said:

I can't see the american's ever getting over their love of pickup trucks...

perhaps if the fuel cost was similar to over here they may reconsider, that coupled with ved etc.

[Challo]

Im suprised to see the Vauxhall Astra so high on the list. I would have thought a high percentage of these sales are company cars and everyone in our company has a 3 Series/A3/Vw Golf.

[Face for Radio]

Challo said:

Im suprised to see the Vauxhall Astra so high on the list. I would have thought a high percentage of these sales are company cars and everyone in our company has a 3 Series/A3/Vw Golf.

When I worked at Stansted airport, it never ceased to amaze me how many brand new cars they had on turnaround every few months. That's probably a fair chunk of the new car market. For them then to go into car supermarkets and 'approved used' with less than 10,000miles on the clock.

[mlj]

Just got back from Florida, they love their pick ups.

I reckon 50% of the cars where pick ups, doing about 15mpg. Crazy.