UK 1972-1973: Ford Cortina best seller

1970 Ford Cortina

* See the Top 10 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

In 1972, the UK new car market shoots up by a huge 27% to a record 1,637,775 registrations before stabilising (+1%) in 1973 at 1,661,639 units. The imports market share is up to 23.5% in ’72 and 27.4% in ’73. The second gen Cortina managed to top the ranking for one year in 1966, well the third and 4th generations would be even more successful, keeping the Cortina nameplate on top of UK sales for a total of 9 years, starting with 4 years in a row in 1972-75. In ’72 the Cortina is up 83% year-on-year to 187,159 units and 11.5% share, then down 3% in ’73 to 181,616 sales and 10.9%.

Morris Marina

The year 1972 also marks the start of an astounding 40 consecutive years of Ford models leading the UK market… The Cortina is #1 followed by the Ford Escort up 58% to 140,837 sales and 8.6%, the Morris Marina up 155% to 104,986 units and 6.4% and the  Vauxhall Viva at 6.4% also. In 1973, the Morris Marina jumps up to #2 thank to sales up 10% to 115,041 and 6.9%.

Full Year 1972 and 1973 Top 10 Ranking Tables below.