Winners and losers in the 2019 UK car market

Which manufacturers thrived this year and which were undone? Read on to find out
The new Duster stands out from the SUV crowd, bringing a welcome bump for Dacia's market share
Ferrari doesn't sell its cars so much as accept orders and can rely on a powerful demand
Honda has lost UK market share, partly due to the fallout from its closing Swindon factory
UX has been good for Lexus, driving market growth
I-Pace and other crossovers are Jag’s success story
Mk1 Juke has been replaced, but Nissan could still find 2020 challenging
"Volkswagen to be the UK market leader in a couple of years? It’s not impossible"
MG sold more than Jeep in the UK
UK sales of Renault’s electric-only Zoe rose by 50% in 2019
Vauxhall's Astra (pictured) and Insignia are struggling
Toyota increased its UK share, with the Corolla a leading contributor
Audi's Q2 now outsells its A4
Demand for city cars, such as Fiat's Punto, is falling

Close

News

8 mins read

31 December 2019

The final 2019 registration figure for new cars in the UK is expected to be close to 2.3 million, which would represent a 2.8% drop on 2018 and a fall of 14.6% from the 2016 peak of just under 2.7m.

Another decline is expected in 2020, to 2.2m if the Brexit process goes relatively smoothly. If the chaos and indecision of 2019 gets worse in 2020, then a fall to 2.0m or below is entirely possible. For now, here's the good and bad news of 2019.

ALFA ROMEO - DOWN

2018 market share: 0.18%
2019 market share: 0.15%

Alfa Romeo’s long-heralded rebirth is proving hard to deliver. Once its FCA owner is merged with PSA, will the group sell Alfa to someone who thinks they can do a better job?

ASTON MARTIN - UP

2018 market share: 0.06%
2019 market share: 0.07%

Rarely has the future of a company depended so heavily on a single new model. If the DBX is a hit, Aston survives as an independent business. Otherwise, it could sink under the weight of its debts.

AUDI - DOWN

2018 market share: 6.07%
2019 market share: 6.02%

For the second successive year, Audi has struggled to homologate engines for the first round of WLTP emissions tests. Now it faces the second round of WLTP: it promises to do better this time.

BENTLEY

2018 market share: 0.07%
2019 market share: 0.07%

The news that the Bentayga has failed to make much difference to Bentley sales is both good and bad news for Aston: it is a weak competitor, but it also shows that not every luxury SUV succeeds.

BMW - DOWN

2018 market share: 7.27%
2019 market share: 7.20%

BMW’s slice of the market has been fairly steady this year, but increased variant availability of the new 3 Series might lead to a boost in 2020.

CITROEN - UP

2018 market share: 2.10%
2019 market share: 2.22%

It has tried to pivot from Picasso MPVs to Aircross crossovers and renewed its comfort focus but success has been modest.

DACIA - UP

2018 market share: 1.02%
2019 market share: 1.32%

The new Dacia Duster has led to a surge in market share. In a crowded small SUV market, the no-nonsense crossover really has a niche all to itself.

Back to top

DS - DOWN

2018 market share: 0.21%
2019 market share: 0.18%

DS’s shrill insistence that it is ‘premium’ is like a scandal-encrusted politician insisting that he has ‘integrity’: if you have to mention it, you probably don’t have it.

FERRARI - UP

2018 market share 0.04%
2019 market share: 0.05%

Ferrari doesn’t sell its cars so much as accept orders. The forthcoming crossover is an inevitability and should make Aston Martin concerned for the long-term appeal of the DBX.

FIAT - DOWN

2018 market share: 1.74%
2019 market share: 1.45%

Some 80% of Fiat’s sales are city cars. Yet Fiat recently said it wants to leave that segment and move sales to superminis, which it abandoned when it dropped the Punto. Go figure.

FORD - DOWN

2018 market share: 10.73%
2019 market share: 10.23%

If Ford is going to stay above a 10% share, the new Puma will have to be a big success – and do more than just steal sales off the similarly sized Ford Ecosport.

HONDA - DOWN

2018 market share: 2.22%
2019 market share: 1.90%

Honda’s market share has taken a big hit from the fallout surrounding the closure of the Swindon factory. The forthcoming E EV has a huge task in trying to revitalise the brand.

Back to top

HYUNDAI - DOWN

2018 market share: 3.80%
2019 market share: 3.68%

Hyundai has hit a rare bump in the road this year. Falling sales of the Santa Fe (down 50%) suggest that non-premium large crossovers are becoming harder to sell.

JAGUAR - UP

2018 market share: 1.56%
2019 market share: 1.58%

Jaguar crossovers, and particularly electric crossovers, are doing well and saloons are doing very badly. It is not difficult to see where the company’s future lies.

Back to top

JEEP - UP

2018 market share 0.26%
2019 market share: 0.27%

The brand long synonymous with rugged off-roaders now makes almost all of its sales from small crossovers shared with Fiat. Think once-prestigious Rover rebadging the Metro as ‘Rover 100’.

KIA - UP

2018 market share 4.05%
2019 market share: 4.27%

If there is one model that epitomises Kia’s rise, it is the Kia Sportage. It sells in almost identical numbers to the Ford Kuga and Volkswagen Tiguan and is far ahead of competitors from Vauxhall, Peugeot etc.

LAND ROVER - UP

2018 market share: 3.29%
2019 market share: 3.34%

Land Rover is facing its first-ever sales flop: Land Rover Discovery 5 sales have fallen by 43% in the past two years. The real successor to the Discovery 4 may turn out to be the new Defender.

LEXUS - UP

2018 market share: 0.52%
2019 market share: 0.69%

Some 70% of Lexus’s sales are now crossovers, as the misconceived Lexus CT hatch is being allowed to fade away. The new Lexus UX is helping to achieve market growth for the brand.

LOTUS

Back to top

2018 market share: 0.01%
2019 market share: 0.01%

Its future looks brighter than it has done for 50 years – even though its sales performance resembles a 5W bulb.

MASERATI - DOWN

2018 market share: 0.05%
2019 market share: 0.04%

Maserati was supposed to become a Porsche competitor, selling 75,000 cars a year globally by 2018. It sold half of that last year and is now being outsold by Ferrari in the UK.

MAZDA - UP

2018 market share: 1.67%
2019 market share: 1.75%

The Mazda CX-3 and Mazda CX-5 crossovers are gradually increasing Mazda’s sales. This defiantly pro-combustion-engine company has finally decided that it needs to offer an EV from 2021.

MERCEDES-BENZ - UP

2018 market share: 7.28%
2019 market share: 7.50%

The new Mercedes-Benz A-Class has consolidated Mercedes’ position as the leading German premium brand. Indeed, the A-Class is only a few thousand sales behind the Ford Focus.

MG - UP

2018 market share: 0.38%
2019 market share: 0.53%

MG is making notable progress, having overtaken Jeep in the sales charts. The brand is not exactly mainstream yet, but its market share is not to be sniffed at.

Back to top

MINI - DOWN

2018 market share: 2.83%
2019 market share: 2.72%

A modest 2019 but the big news is the 2020 electric Mini. Few firms have a more suitable owner demographic for an EV.

MITSUBISHI - DOWN

2018 market share: 0.89%
2019 market share: 0.71%

In 2018, the Outlander lost access to the plug-in car grant, and in 2019, like Nissan and Renault the company had to deal with the Carlos Ghosn affair. Surely, it is due for a stroke of luck in 2020…

NISSAN - DOWN

2018 market share: 4.34%
2019 market share: 4.03%

The run-out Mk1 Juke has lost a lot of sales in the past couple of years. The Nissan Qashqai is also coming to the end of its life in the next 12 months, which means 2020 could be difficult even with a new Nissan Juke.

PEUGEOT - UP

2018 market share: 3.42%
2019 market share: 3.47%

Once the number four car brand in the UK, Peugeot has only one model (the Peugeot 2008) that makes the top five in its respective segment. All the others languish but the new 208 and 2008 aren’t on sale yet.

PORSCHE - UP

Back to top

2018 market share: 0.53%
2019 market share: 0.63%

After WLTP-related emissions test problems earlier this year, Porsche is now back on track. At least the new Porsche Taycan won’t face that issue.

RENAULT - DOWN

2018 market share: 2.63%
2019 market share: 2.52%

The firm’s one bright spot in a lacklustre year is the electric Zoe. With sales up 50%, Renault is well placed for the growth in EVs.

ROLLS-ROYCE

2018 market share 0.02%
2019 market share: 0.02%

So far, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan is making no more impact on Rolls-Royce sales than the Bentayga is making on Bentley figures.

SEAT - UP

2018 market share: 2.66%
2019 market share: 3.01%

Seat has been one of the big winners of the past couple of years: its range of three crossovers is doing extremely well. The brand smashed many of its regional sales records in 2019.

SKODA - UP

2018 market share: 3.16%
2019 market share: 3.20%

The driving characteristics of Skoda’s cars may be a little unexciting and worthy, but there is nothing dull about its long-term sales growth or profitability. The new Scala hatchback should keep up the momentum.

Back to top

SMART - DOWN

2018 market share: 0.32%
2019 market share: 0.18%

Smart is being reinvented (or possibly disinterred) as an electric-only city car brand. That should be a boon in China.

SSANGYONG - DOWN

2018 market share: 0.12%
2019 market share: 0.09%

The UK business plan looked great on paper: the UK loves 4x4s; value ones doubly so. True, but just not the ones that Ssangyong is trying to sell, unfortunately.

SUBARU - DOWN

2018 market share: 0.13%
2019 market share: 0.11%

Americans buy almost 30 times more Subarus than we do – an incredible 680,000 last year. It makes you wonder why they bother with us ungrateful Brits.

SUZUKI - DOWN

2018 market share: 1.63%
2019 market share: 1.49%

Suzuki is a true maverick: a regional maker of small cars in a world of global, market-covering giants. The Suzuki Jimny’s UK appeal is strong, but niche, while the rest of the range is falling out of favour.

TOYOTA - UP

2018 market share: 4.31%
2019 market share: 4.65%

Toyota makes a vast range of models, but a surprisingly small number succeed in the UK. The GT86, Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry and Land Cruiser contribute very little, and even the Toyota RAV4 is a small player.

Back to top

VAUXHALL - DOWN

2018 market share: 7.49%
2019 market share: 7.10%

Its crossovers are doing reasonable business, but the old stalwarts are dying on their feet: the Vauxhall Astra was down 20% and the Insignia fell 35%.

VOLKSWAGEN - UP

2018 market share: 8.58%
2019 market share: 8.61%

Now the clear number two in the UK. With a new Golf imminent, VW is getting within striking distance of Ford. VW to be the UK market leader in a couple of years? It is not impossible.

Back to top

VOLVO - UP

2018 market share: 2.13%
2019 market share: 2.42%

We close this report with a heart-warming tale to start the new year. After losing its way in the 1990s, Volvo has finally re-emerged as the cool choice for those who find German brands a touch bombastic.

It was a good year to be selling...

Battery electric vehicles: Still a niche, but market share more than doubled, from 0.6% to 1.5%. This year could be the one when they start to go mainstream.

Smallish crossovers: B-segment models like the Ecosport and C-segment models like the Qashqai were up approximately 5%.

Compact premium crossovers: Growth was 22%, helped by the new Volvo XC40 and Evoque. The Audi Q2 now outsells the Audi A4, and the Jaguar E-Pace outsells the Jaguar XE and Jaguar XF combined.

It was a bad year to be selling...

Anything made by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: Fiat and Alfa were down 15% and Maserati dropped 20%. Jeep fell a moderate 6%, but only because its 2017 baseline was so low.

City cars: Sales dropped by 15% and car companies think new CO2 targets will make these cars unviable as they sell too cheaply to be electrified.

Sports cars and coupés: Their lowest share ever (1.3%) after sales fell 13%. ‘Sporty’ now means an SUV driving to a ski resort, not a roadster on a B-road.

David Francis

Winners and losers in the 2018 UK car market

The winners and losers in 2017's UK car market