UK 1999: Ford Focus takes the lead, Vauxhall Astra on podium
Ford Focus
* See the Top 25 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Many thanks to Florian *
The UK market is down 2.2% at 2.2 million registrations this year. For its first full year of sales, the Ford Focus doesn’t waste time and take control of England with 103,228 units sold and 4.7% share. The Ford Fiesta drops one spot to #2 and 99,830 sales while the Vauxhall Astra takes advantage of its new generation to gain 3 spots and jump on the podium for the first time in the 20 year-life of the nameplate in the country at 92,050 units, up 13%.
Vauxhall Astra
The Vauxhall Corsa is also up 3 spots to a best-ever 4th position with 86,779 sales, above the Vauxhall Vectra (-16%) and Ford Mondeo (-23%). The Renault Clio reclaims the title of UK’s best-selling foreign model after 3 years in 2nd place at #7 and 63,991 units. Massive event this year: the VW Golf breaks into the annual British Top 10 for the first time in the 23 year life of the nameplate at #8 with 63,715 sales, up 50% on 1998.
VW Golf
The Peugeot 206 also breaks into the Top 10 at #9 and 58,788 sales for its first full year while the 306 drops 24% to #10. For the third year in the history of the nameplate, the Nissan Micra ranks #11 in the UK and still hasn’t managed to break into the Top 10… Other great performers this year include the BMW 3 Series up 27% on ’98 to reach a best-ever 12th place, the Citroen Saxo up to #14, the Ford Ka up to #16 and the Rover 75 up to #24.
Full 1999 Top 25 Ranking Table below.
UK Full Year 1999:
| Pos | Model | 1999 | % | /98 | 1998 | Pos |
| 1 | Ford Focus | 103,228 | 4.7% | 1104% | 8,571 | n/a |
| 2 | Ford Fiesta | 99,830 | 4.5% | -14% | 116,110 | 1 |
| 3 | Vauxhall Astra | 92,050 | 4.2% | 13% | 81,494 | 5 |
| 4 | Vauxhall Corsa | 86,779 | 3.9% | 15% | 75,673 | 6 |
| 5 | Vauxhall Vectra | 77,479 | 3.5% | -16% | 92,719 | 4 |
| 6 | Ford Mondeo | 77,183 | 3.5% | -23% | 99,729 | 3 |
| 7 | Renault Clio | 63,991 | 2.9% | 12% | 57,231 | 10 |
| 8 | VW Golf | 63,715 | 2.9% | 50% | 42,354 | 17 |
| 9 | Peugeot 206 | 58,788 | 2.7% | 471% | 10,300 | n/a |
| 10 | Peugeot 306 | 53,447 | 2.4% | -24% | 70,169 | 7 |
| 11 | Nissan Micra | 47,775 | 2.2% | -2% | 48,757 | 13 |
| 12 | BMW 3 Series | 47,265 | 2.1% | 27% | 37,219 | 19 |
| 13 | Rover 200 | 45,728 | 2.1% | -30% | 64,928 | 8 |
| 14 | Citroen Saxo | 43,557 | 2.0% | 12% | 38,916 | 18 |
| 15 | VW Polo | 43,422 | 2.0% | -10% | 48,402 | 14 |
| 16 | Ford Ka | 42,607 | 1.9% | 17% | 36,508 | 21 |
| 17 | Peugeot 406 | 42,242 | 1.9% | -12% | 48,242 | 15 |
| 18 | Fiat Punto | 40,439 | 1.8% | -22% | 52,159 | 11 |
| 19 | Rover 400 | 33,343 | 1.5% | -42% | 57,318 | 9 |
| 20 | Renault Mégane (e) | 33,100 | 1.5% | -31% | 47,890 | 16 |
| 21 | Ford Escort | 32,113 | 1.5% | -72% | 113,560 | 2 |
| 22 | Renault Scénic (e) | 32,000 | 1.5% | -9% | 35,108 | 22 |
| 23 | Renault Laguna | 30,475 | 1.4% | -5% | 32,055 | 23 |
| 24 | Rover 75 (e) | 25,000 | 1.1% | new | 0 | - |
| 25 | Toyota Avensis | 21,998 | 1.0% | -13% | 25,298 | 26 |
Source: SMMT, Wikipedia, Manufacturers.
Many thanks to Florian for sharing the data!
(e): estimate
