Car sales cruise into 2001

Ford Focus: again the UK best seller

Car sales, which reached record levels at the end of last year, have registered another rise, dealership figures have revealed.

The number of cars sold last month hit 187,908, 1.5% up on the figure for January 2000, a report from the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders said.

The figures, which follow announcements by Nissan and General Motors of investment in UK plants, "are just the latest in a string of good news for the motor sector", SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan said.

But they come the same day as a report showed UK car prices, which have attracted criticism from trade watchdogs, have remained above the European average.

MG Rover setback

January's rise in car sales followed the best ever quarter for UK motor dealers at the end of 2000.

Manufacturers' league

1: Ford, 36,000 cars sold(+1.9%)

2: Vauxhall, 24,560 (-15.6%)

3: Peugeot, 16,682 (+7.6%)

4: Volkswagen, 12,169 (+2.8%)

5: Renault, 11,356 (-23%)

Data for January 2001

But last month's growth hid a further setback for MG Rover, with sales falling 12% year on the year.

The carmaker's market share slipped from 4.46% in January 1999 to 3.85% last month, and its place in the manufacturers' league from sixth to ninth.

MG Rover has welcomed some element of the sales decline as a sign of a focus on achieving profitable, rather than high volume, sales.

Since the company was sold by the German car company BMW last spring, it has been separated from Range Rover which was sold to Ford and from the Mini Cooper which was retained by BMW.

Sales of Rover cars slid 5.87% last year, despite strong growth in December.

Market winners

The firm was overtaken in the manufacturer's league last month by Citroen, which saw sales grow by almost 60%, Fiat and Toyota.

Top models

1: Ford Focus, 10,785 sold

2: Vauxhall Astra, 9,020

3: Ford Fiesta, 9,007

4: Ford Mondeo, 8,911

5: Peugeot 206, 7,431

Data for January 2001

Ford retained a clear lead in the number one spot, with sales of 36,069, 1.5% up on January 1999.

The firm's Focus model was again the UK's most popular car, with 10,785 sold, while the Ford Fiesta retained third place.

Trade in Vauxhall cars, including the second-ranking Astra model, slumped 15% to 24,560.

Price gap

The figures come the same day as a report sponsored by investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston showed that pre-tax car prices in the UK were 21% higher than the European average last month.

And while the difference is smaller than the 42% gap in August, much of the convergence since should be credited to the strengthening of the euro rather than action by carmakers to equalise prices, said the report's compilers Eurocarprice.com.

However, when tax is included, UK car prices were broadly in line with those on the Continent in January, the report showed.

The country's car pricing regime has been reviewed by UK and EU trade watchdogs over the higher prices Britons have paid more for cars when compared with Continental motorists.

Legislation which came into force in September prompted widespread reductions in car prices offered to private buyers at UK dealers.

Individual motorists accounted for 46% of UK car sales last month, compared with 36% in January 1999.

Year forecast

UK car sales are set to come in at 2.25 million this year, close to 2000 levels, the SMMT said in Tuesday's report.

The record, of 2.5 million sales, was set three years ago, with 2.3 million sold in 1989.