Fleet customers continue to be the saving grace for UK car sales, with numbers rising again in April as private sales fell for the tenth month running.
According to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), 56.5% of total car sales in April went to fleet customers. This is a hike of 6.5% over the same month last year, with 77,117 cars going to companies compared to 72,379 sales in April 2010.
Diesel cars now make up 52.7% of the total UK car market (private and fleet), with the VW Golf the top-selling diesel car in April. Alternative fuels are becoming much more popular too, with registrations up 48.1% to 1,986 in April 2011, compared to 1,341 sales in the same month last year.
Vauxhall continues to dominate in the fleet world with 66.1% of its total sales in 2011 going to fleets - the new Astra and Insignia models helping keep the company successful in the world of company cars. Second highest is Volvo, with 60.9% of sales this year coming from fleet purchases.
Ford sold 54.3% of its total volume to the fleet sector, but this could soon rise dramatically when the new Focus begins its full fleet offensive.
These were closely followed by the three popular German brands of Volkswagen, Audi and BMW.
In April, the top five company cars in terms of sales were:
|
1 |
VAUXHALL |
ASTRA |
|
2 |
VAUXHALL |
INSIGNIA |
|
3 |
FORD |
FIESTA |
|
4 |
VOLKSWAGEN |
GOLF |
|
5 |
FORD |
FOCUS |