FLEETS bought a total of 4,553 diesel cars in July out of a total of 7,414 sold by manufacturers, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' figures. This means fleet diesel sales in 1996 are 0.9% down on fleet diesel figures for the first seven months of 1995 at 112,331 (1995: 113,303), while the whole of the fleet market is up 7.1%. The decline in diesel sales is more marked in the retail market as total diesel sales are down 8.7% year-on-year at 190,614 (208,670).

Top 10 fleet diesel manufacturers in July were: Peugeot 1,105, Audi/VW 828, Vauxhall 688, Rover 675, Ford 645, Citroen 220, Renault 148, Nissan 88, Toyota 35, SEAT 31.

Top 10 best-selling fleet diesel models in July: Volkswagen Golf 428, Peugeot 406 347, Vauxhall Astra 346, Rover 400 327, Peugeot 106 324, Peugeot 306 258, Volkswagen Passat 256, Ford Escort 255, Ford Mondeo 205, Ford Fiesta 153.

Top 10 best-selling fleet diesel manufacturers in 1996: Peugeot 28,882, Ford 23,309, Vauxhall 19,232, Rover 10,657, Citroen 9,940, Audi/VW 8,683, Renault 5,568, Nissan 2,037, Fiat 689, Volvo 665.

Top 10 best-selling fleet diesel models in 1996: Peugeot 306 11,455, Ford Mondeo 11,380, Vauxhall Astra 9,304, Ford Escort 7,252, Citroen Xantia 6,179, Peugeot 406 5,700, Peugeot 106 5,276, Peugeot 405 4,593, Rover 400 3,934, Volkswagen Golf 3,791.