Sales figures: flaming June for sales as Vauxhall pulls ahead

VAUXHALL has powered well ahead of the competition at the top of the fleet market, extending its lead over Ford by a further 2,000 units in what was a flaming June for the car market.

The Luton-based firm has risen from a lead of 5,094 units in May to 7,352 in June, a total of 116,160. This equates to a fleet market share of 21.13%, while Ford is second with a share of 19.79%, or 108,808 registrations. For Vauxhall, the turnaround this year exactly mirrors 2002, when Ford held a 21%/19% lead.

Vauxhall's star performer is the Corsa, which is up 26.54% on last year at 33,735 units, while the Astra has crept up 1.24% to 37,805. Ford's two core fleet models are struggling: the Focus, still the best-selling car in the UK, is down by more than 18% on last year to 46,859 in the year-to-date, while the Mondeo has slipped from third place last year to fifth, and is 23% down on 2002. The Vectra is also down on last year by 12%. In total, the fleet market had its best June ever, with registrations leaping 14.9% to 103,702 units. The retail market saw even stronger growth – up 16.5% to 136,472 units.

Other star performers include the Renault Megane, which claimed fourth spot with 24,376 units sold, the Vauxhall Zafira, up 17% with17,091 units and the Ford Fiesta, which increased its fleet sales by 35% to a 20,029 total. Diesel models continued their now steady climb in market share, representing 31% of all fleet cars sold in June. The Astra was the best-selling diesel model with 2,129 in June, followed by the Vectra, Volkswagen Passat and Focus, still the 2003 diesel leader.

Such a strong month has meant that fleet market sales, which have previously been markedly below 2002, are nearly back to parity: only 1.54% down on last year. This equates to less than 10,000 cars.

Ford vs Vauxhall: fleet sales Jan - June 2003

Vauxhall Corsa: +26.54%
Ford Fiesta: +35.22%

Vauxhall Astra: +1.24%
Ford Focus: -18.13%

Vauxhall Vectra: -12.26%
Ford Mondeo: -23.13%