Richard Brown and Charles Wheeldon look back at a tricky year for manufacturers and highlight some of the winners and losers in 2011.
Just over 1,940,000 new cars were sold in 2011, according to latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Though sales dropped by 89,593 units, or 4.4%, compared to 2010, the contraction was not as drastic as the 100,000-plus units predicted at the end of 2010, thanks in part to increasing sales in fleet and non-petrol vehicles.
December 2011 saw sales fall by 3.7% compared to the same month the previous year and fourth-quarter sales were down 1.8% on 2010.
Independent macroeconomic predictions have, however, prompted the SMMT to rethink its estimates for 2012 and 2013.
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By GlobalDataNotably, new car sales in the second half of 2011 were only down 1.1% on 2010. The SMMT attributes market shrinkage across 2011 to a "weak start to the year" with sales volumes set against Scrappage-aided markets until July.
The automotive arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is already warning of 2012 sales falling further, probably below 1,900,000 units.
PwC also points to the reliance on the burgeoning fleet market in the UK, underscored by the SMMT figures. While the private market for new car sales dropped in 2011, fleet sales grew by 4.7%, an additional 45,893 vehicles, increasing the fleet market share of new vehicle registrations to 52.5%, from 47.9%.
A contributory factor to the rise in fleet is the marketing of cars with reduced emissions to company car managers, bringing tangible cost savings through benefit in kind taxation relief and fuel expense.
While the RAC calculates that the cost of private motoring has risen by 14% in 2011, Julie Jenner, chairman of car fleet association Acfo, maintains: "A company car is the financially astute choice in these austere economic times."
According to the SMMT figures, across both fleet and private purchasing, diesel and alternatively-fuelled cars both recorded best-ever market shares in 2011.
Diesel engine vehicles outsold petrol counterparts for the first time, a market trend that manufacturers such as Mazda have targeted with finance offers and then expanded on.
Similarly, Mitsubishi is pushing hard to sell its first mass-produced electric vehicle (EV) in the UK, with all franchised dealers taking on EV specialist staff.
Manufacturer round-up
Citing its improved dealer network and latest product range, Alfa Romeo has posted its best sales figures in the UK since 2002. New car registrations increased from 8,834 units in 2010 to 11,563 in 2011, a rise of 30.9%. The figure gives the Italian manufacturer a UK market share of just under 0.6%.
Sales of BMW Group cars increased by 8.8% from 2010 to 2011, although demand was down 2.7% in December compared to the same month the previous year, and down 10.4% for Mini alone. Group sales of 166,780 vehicles in the UK over the past 12 months, however, have boosted its market share by 8.6%. The BMW brand accounted for 116,642 of those vehicles, an increase of 6.6% on the previous year and the second-highest UK sales figure for the marque, taking BMWs UK market share to a record high of 6%. December sales were up 2.2% year-on-year.
The BMW 5 Series increased sales by 35% in 2011, which the Group attributes to "strong demand in the corporate sales sector" in which BMW sales grew by 10% on the 2010 total. Wholly-owned BMW subsidiary Rolls-Royce Motor Cars also enjoyed 2011 with 3,538 sales, up 31% on 2010, beating their previous annual best of 3,347 sales in 1978.
Including commercial and corporate sectors, Ford UK finished 2011 with a 15% share in the UK market, up from "almost 15%" in 2010, and therefore retained its position as market leader.
Total car sales of 265,894 units in 2011 were down 5.2% from the 280,364 vehicles sold in 2010, although the Fiesta model was the biggest-selling car in the UK for the third year running.
Sales of all Ford commercial vehicle models were up and the C-Max people carrier range saw sales more than double from 8,357 units in 2010 to 18,925 units in 2011.
Ford sold 14,689 cars in December 2011, an increase of 5.3% from December 2010s figure of 13,953, but still down on the 21,732 cars sold in December 2009.
Hyundai, like many manufacturers with market share in single digits and total sales in the tens of thousands, saw both figures rise in 2011, compared to 2010.
UK sales, including commercial vehicles, according to the South Korean manufacturer totalled 63,577 vehicles, up 2.3% on 2010, while market share increased to 3.2% from 3%. Sales not including commercial vehicles totalled approximately 62,900 units, according to the SMMT.
Leading registrations for the carmaker was the i-10 model, which accounted for at least 30% of all sales.
And, like manufacturers of many sizes, Hyundai registrations have included a swell in fleet sales, totalling 28,593 units in 2011, a 53% rise on 2010s figure.
Mercedes-Benzs market share of 4.2% in the UK for 2011 is a new record for the manufacturer, highlighting an increase in fleet business and commercial sales.
40% of all Mercedes-Benz cars sold in 2011 were business sales, above the industry average prediction of 37%, as corporate sales rocketed 36.1% to 34,884.
According to the manufacturer, total registrations for Mercedes-Benz rose 8.6% to 81,341 vehicles, with the brands top performing cars including the C-Class saloon, up 9.7% to 19,913 new cars sold; the C-Class estate, up 53.9% to 7,191 sales; the SLK Roadster, up 50.7% to 3,548; and the E-Class Cabriolet up 50.5% to 4,707 cars sold.
The marque singled out the Actros range, up 62.4% to 1,583 sales, as commercial vehicle registrations hit 12,165 for the year, up 3.2%.
Seat has continued a period of consistent recovery in the UK since dropping from the 2007 high of 34,790 registrations.
The Spanish manufacturer sold 36,089 new cars in 2011, a rise of 9.6% on the 2010 figure of 32,935, itself up 8% on the 2009 figure of 29,987 registrations.
Likewise, market share has risen to 1.9% of UK new car sales, up from its 1.6% share of the market in 2010 and 1.5% of the market in 2009.
The Ibiza range had its best-ever sales year across all models in the UK in 2011 with 19,179 registrations, while the Exeo luxury car range increased sales by 12% year-on-year, selling 2,735 units.
koda UK has set two new records in the UK, selling 45,061 cars, up 9.3% on 2010, and reaching a market share of 2.3%, up from 2% in 2010.
It was also a best-ever year for the koda Superb, with sales up 30% on 2010 to 4,439, and koda Yeti up 32% to 5,800.
As with many manufacturers, koda UK was buoyed by the fleet sector, expected to account for more than 800,000 units in 2011, just shy of the 2008 peak.
Corporate business was up 30% across 2011 for the Czech firm, from 16,763 to 21,899 registrations, giving it a 2.2% market share of the sector.
Vauxhall, once again, has come second to Ford in UK new car sales though the companys 9.1% market share closed the gap between them by 3.1 percentage points in the second half of the year, which the manufacturer attributed to the introduction of its Flexible Finance programme in July.
The brand did however rise to market leader for the first time in commercial vehicles with a 16.4% share of the market in 2011.
Total retail car sales were down slightly from around 80,000 units in 2010 to 79,022 units sold in 2011.
Just as the previous year, Vauxhalls corporate business for 2011 was nearly twice that of private retail with 155,688 fleet sales, and an increase of 1.05% on the 2010 figure of 154,053 registrations.
Germanys gain is Frances loss (and Italys)
German manufacturers dominated the table of brands that saw sales growth in the declining UK market, picking up sales lost by other European marques.
Of those brands that sold more than 50,000 cars last year, not one had a higher growth rate than (BMW-owned) Minis 14.2%, adding 6,244 unit sales to its 2010 figure. Audi was second with sales rising by 14% to 113,797 units for the year and added more sales to their 2010 total than any other brand.
Audis parent company Volkswagen, like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, also added to total sales and increased its market share, while prestige marque Porsche and city car manufacturer Smart both lost ground.
German brands, not including German-owned brands such as Mini or Bentley, sold 503,028 units in 2011, a rise of 6.3% or 29,713 registrations.
Given the contraction of the UK market, these sales had to be lost from other manufacturers and French brand Renault accounted for nearly all of them, recording 27,159 fewer registrations in 2011 than the previous year, a massive loss of 28.4% and at odds with the relative success of stablemates Nissan and Infiniti.
Similarly, Peugeot lost 13.1% in new car sales, or 14,335 units, while partner Citroën dropped to 68,464 total units sold, a fall of 6.6% which put it level in UK market share with Renault at 3.5%.
Italian brands fared no better as Fiat dropped 21.6% in total sales and nearly half a percentage point in market share and luxury manufacturer Maserati recorded 68 fewer sales, a 14.9% loss.
Japans mixed fortune
Japanese carmakers recorded heavy losses for 2011 and Daihatsu all-but collapsed after selling only three vehicles in 2011, a drop of 98.2%
There were gains for relatively new-to-market Infiniti, which sold 382 units in 2011, a rise of 150 sales; for Hyundai and for Nissan (in one of the few European markets where the brand outsells its Renault affiliate) in both total sales and market share; and a massive rise of 33.3% in sales of Lexus, which shifted 8,269 new cars over the 12 months.
Kia, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Suzuki all lost registrations by the thousands, while Honda, Mazda and Toyota lost them by the tens of thousands, with each brands sales dropping faster than the market rate of 4.41%, ranging from Kia (4.45%) to Subaru (32.41%).
