SEPTEMBER new car registrations were better than expected, with fleet volumes rising for the second time in three months and retail sales on a par with last year’s September figures.

Fleet sales are now only marginally behind last year’s levels at 919,339 year-to-date, 1.3% behind 2005 figures, with a 48.3% share of the market.

Retail demand is traditionally strong in September due to the number plate change, and they took 46.3% of the total registrations for the month compared to 44.8% for the rest of the year.

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders chief executive Christopher Macgowan said: ‘September registrations were some 20,000 units higher than we expected and this has got the 56 plate off to a racing start.

‘September private registrations were on a par with last year’s volumes, in respect of the overall market to date, although fuel price increases have eased, their volatility, along with concerns over possible interest rate rises, continues to affect customer confidence.’

Ford is still in the number one position in total fleet sales for 2006 at 164,196, and sold the most cars in September with 27,927. The Focus remains top of fleet sales at nearly 80,000 units, although in the lower-medium sector Vauxhall sells more vehicles.

The official number of 78,341 Focus cars sold includes a C-Max share of nearly 11,000. Add the 58,272 Astras and 28,630 Zafiras and Vauxhall has sold just under 87,000 in this key fleet sector –9,000 more than Ford.

Other notable fleet climbers include the Hyundai Santa Fe. The new car is up 188% over the previous unloved model, and has sold 2,409 year-to-date in fleet. Although not yet at the 3,000-plus levels of fleet bestsellers such as the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV-4 and Nissan X-Trail, it is certainly catching up quickly.

Manufacturers without a core upper-medium offering are taking a hit. Renault, which admits it has stopped pushing Laguna, is down by nearly a quarter overall this year to 60,351, with Laguna only registering 4,342 sales YTD.

And partner Nissan is also struggling. The Primera is being run down as the firm shifts its strategy, and has only sold 2,232 models in fleet this year. With Almera down 81% to 1,721 and Micra under pressure, down 37% to 10,818, the firm finds itself in limbo, waiting for new models such as the Qashqai and Note to bring momentum back.

Audi continues its march up the fleet sales table, by virtue of strong performances across its range. Only the run-out TT sees a small drop. Since its launch, the firm has struggled to sell the A6 in the higher specification versions, unlike the BMW 5-series and Mercedes-Benz E-class.

In previous years the 2.0 TDI has been the only main seller in the range and this has reflected in lower than expected sales figures. But Audi has concentrated on raising awareness of its 2.7 and 3.0 TDI models, especially following its diesel-powered Le Mans victory, and has been offering generous free spec upgrades, among other tactics.

As a result, sales of the range are up 57% year-on-year, overtaking the E-class, which is down 15% year-on-year.

Lexus has beaten its full-year sales record with three months to go, with fleet sales, diesel and hybrids powering the brand forwards. The previous record of 11,335 was passed in September with fleet taking half of all sales.

Fleet registrations are up 100% year-on-year at 5,713. Almost all this growth is due to introducing the diesel IS220d. The first diesel Lexus, nearly 2,500 IS220ds have been registered in fleet this year.

Fleet top 10s

Models YTD 2006 YTD 2005 % change
Ford Focus 78,341 80,114 -2.2
Vauxhall Astra 58,272 62,589 -6.9
Ford Fiesta 35,553 25,185 41.2
Renault Megane 34,601 47,358 -27.0
Ford Mondeo 33,571 37,345 -10.1
Vauxhall Zafira 28,630 22,204 28.9
Volkswagen Golf 28,530 28,162 1.3
Vauxhall Vectra 27,760 29,597 -6.2
BMW 3-series 18,858 15,732 19.8
Renault Clio 16,424 14,841 10.6