UK 1980-1981: Ford Cortina, Escort and Fiesta on top
Ford Cortina
* See the Top 15 best-selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at end of post! *
Helped by a facelift in 1979, the Ford Cortina leads the British car market in 1980 with 190,281 sales and in 1981 with 159,804. Ford monopolises the podium both years with the Escort #2 at 122,357 units then 141,081, and the Fiesta #3 with 91,661 sales in 1980 and 110,753 in 1981.
Ford Fiesta
Austin Metro
Launched in 1980 as the miniMetro to give the Mini a big brother, the Austin Metro ranks 4th for its first full year of sales in 1981 with 110,283 sales, better than any Mini year since 1965… The Morris Marina is replaced by the Ital over the period, #5 in 1981. The best selling foreign model is the Renault 18 in 1980 (#10) and the Datsun Cherry in 1981 at a fantastic 8th place, the highest rank ever for a Japanese model.
1980 and 1981 Top 15 Ranking Tables: see ‘Read more’ below the Datsun Cherry pic.
Datsun Cherry
UK Full Year 1980:
| Pos | Model | 1980 | 80/79 | 1979 | Pos |
| 1 | Ford Cortina | 190,281 | -2% | 193,784 | 1 |
| 2 | Ford Escort | 122,357 | -7% | 131,667 | 2 |
| 3 | Ford Fiesta | 91,661 | 56% | 58,681 | 5 |
| 4 | Austin Mini | 61,129 | -26% | 82,938 | 3 |
| 5 | Morris Marina/Ital | 59,906 | -4% | 62,410 | 4 |
| 6 | Vauxhall Chevette | 46,059 | 4% | 44,197 | 10 |
| 7 | Vauxhall Cavalier | 41,119 | -12% | 46,517 | 9 |
| 8 | Austin Allegro | 39,612 | -29% | 55,985 | 6 |
| 9 | Ford Capri | 31,187 | -37% | 49,147 | 8 |
| 10 | Renault 18 | 30,958 | 8% | 28,724 | 18 |
| 11 | Datsun Sunny | 30,954 | -2% | 31,665 | 11 |
| 12 | Datsun Cherry | 30,929 | 5% | 29,371 | 16 |
| 13 | Ford Granada | 29,093 | -44% | 52,089 | 7 |
| Renault 5 (e) | 28,160 | 23% | 22,859 | 21 | |
| VW Golf (e) | 18,620 | -6% | 19,903 | 24 | |
| VW Polo | 16,045 | -11% | 18,036 | 25 | |
| Toyota Corolla | 13,620 | 49% | 9,116 | 45 | |
| Fiat Strada (e) | 13,020 | -16% | 15,578 | 32 | |
| Toyota Starlet | 6,768 | -14% | 7,906 | 51 | |
| Audi 80 (e) | 6,660 | 5% | 6,331 | 59 | |
| Peugeot 505 (e) | 6,660 | new | 0 | - | |
| BMW 3 Series | 6,463 | 0% | 6,485 | 58 | |
| VW Derby | 5,784 | -33% | 8,655 | 48 | |
| Toyota Carina | 5,357 | 2% | 5,271 | ||
| Citroen Visa (e) | 4,540 | new | 0 | ||
| Toyota Celica | 4,483 | -15% | 5,294 | ||
| Toyota Cressida | 2,429 | -27% | 3,315 | ||
| Lancia Delta | 1,563 | new | 0 | ||
| Toyota Hilux | 1,534 | 11% | 1,378 | ||
| Toyota Corona | 752 | -7% | 805 | ||
| Toyota Crown | 713 | 42% | 502 |
UK Full Year 1981:
| Pos | Model | 1981 | 81/80 | 1980 | Pos |
| 1 | Ford Cortina | 159,804 | -16% | 190,281 | 1 |
| 2 | Ford Escort | 141,081 | 15% | 122,357 | 2 |
| 3 | Ford Fiesta | 110,753 | 21% | 91,661 | 3 |
| 4 | Austin Metro | 110,283 | n/a | n/a | - |
| 5 | Morris Ital | 48,490 | -19% | 59,906 | 5 |
| 6 | Vauxhall Chevette | 36,838 | -20% | 46,059 | 6 |
| 7 | Vauxhall Cavalier | 33,631 | -18% | 41,119 | 7 |
| 8 | Datsun Cherry | 32,874 | 6% | 30,929 | 12 |
| 9 | Vaixhall Astra | 30,854 | new | 0 | - |
| 10 | Austin Mini | 28,772 | -53% | 61,129 | 4 |
| 11 | VW Golf | 26,413 | 42% | 18,620 | n/a |
| 12 | Datsun Sunny | 25,737 | -17% | 30,954 | 11 |
| 13 | Renault 5 (e) | 25,390 | -10% | 28,160 | n/a |
| 14 | Ford Granada | 25,214 | -13% | 29,093 | 13 |
| 15 | Ford Capri | 22,289 | -29% | 31,187 | 9 |
| Renault 18 (e) | 21,080 | -32% | 30,958 | 10 | |
| VW Polo | 17,885 | 11% | 16,045 | ||
| Fiat Strada (e) | 12,990 | 0% | 13,020 | ||
| Toyota Corolla | 9,221 | -32% | 13,620 | ||
| Peugeot 305 (e) | 8,020 | n/a | n/a | ||
| Audi 80 (e) | 7,275 | 9% | 6,660 | ||
| Citroen Visa (e) | 6,380 | 41% | 4,540 | ||
| Toyota Carina | 4,512 | -16% | 5,357 | ||
| Toyota Starlet | 4,031 | -40% | 6,768 | ||
| VW Derby | 3,987 | -31% | 5,784 | ||
| Toyota Celica | 2,867 | -36% | 4,483 | ||
| VW Scirocco (e) | 2,230 | n/a | n/a | ||
| Toyota Cressida | 2,001 | -18% | 2,429 | ||
| Lancia Delta | 1,971 | 26% | 1,563 | ||
| Toyota Hilux | 1,581 | 3% | 1,534 | ||
| Toyota Crown | 499 | -30% | 713 | ||
| Toyota Land Cruiser | 190 | n/a | n/a | ||
| Toyota Corona | 66 | -91% | 752 |
Source: SMMT, Wikipedia, Autocar and manufacturers. Many thanks to Ryan P and Florian for the data!
Nice stats Matt. I was wondering, did the Mini and Marina/Ital really sell the same number of cars. Amazing coincidence if true. Or is it a typo? Thanks
Hi Ray,
Thanks! Glad you’re enjoying the site. My data says that both models sold the same amount of cars in 1980. Let me triple check though, thanks for picking this up!
cheers
Matt