Ford Fiesta tops October sales charts as market continues to recover

The Ford Fiesta was the UK’s best-selling car in October and the Nissan Qashqai displaced the Vauxhall Corsa for year-to-date sales. 

Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveal that the Fiesta sold 4230 units in October, ahead of the likes of the Volkswagen Golf and the Qashqai. 

The result comes just one week after Ford announced the popular supermini will finish production in June next year. The Qashqai, meanwhile, jumped to the top of the year-to-date sales chart ahead of the Vauxhall Corsa.

The Corsa had previously held on to the top spot since the start of 2022. A strong month for the Qashqai allowed it to jump ahead, selling 33,562 units so far in 2022 to the Corsa’s 32,126. Both are closely followed by the Ford Puma, which has achieved 30,898 registrations for the year to date. 

Registrations for the wider UK automotive market were also positive in October, increasing by 26.5% year on year to 134,344 units and making this the third consecutive month of growth.

However, the UK’s overall market outlook has dropped 2.2% because of the cost of living crisis, supply chain shortages and inflation. The SMMT said a total of 1.566 million registrations are now predicted for the year, which would make 2022 the worst year for registrations since 1982. 

The SMMT said the market is still 5.6% down compared with this point last year, even after 2021's particularly poor October performance which was caused by a significant drop in deliveries. 

The growth was primarily led by increased fleet registrations and rising sales of electrified vehicles, according to the SMMT. Some 67,911 units were fleet vehicles (an increase of 47.4%) while private registrations totalled 62,714 units (up 7.4%). 

Electrified vehicles accounted for one in three registrations in October. Some 19,993 units were pure electric (up 23.4%) – more than double the 8899 plug-in hybrids sold. Overall, one in 10 sales in October were hybrids, which represents growth of 81.7%. 

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “A strong October is hugely welcome, albeit in comparison with a weak 2021, but it is still not enough to offset the damage done by the pandemic and subsequent supply shortages. Next year’s outlook shows recovery is possible and EV growth looks set to continue but, to achieve our shared net zero goals, that growth must accelerate and consumers given every reason to invest.

“With stretched infrastructure and the cost of living crisis both having the potential to undermine future uptake, the government’s autumn statement, set for 17 November, provides an opportunity to stimulate demand and deliver both economic growth and net zero progress."