PoloDriver

It may have slipped one place down the charts, but the Polo remained in the UK’s top 10 best-selling cars during October. Rounding out the top 10 in 10th place, the Polo sold 2952 units according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Registrations rose by 12.1 per cent in October, and the demand for small cars saw an upturn, with the Polo’s supermini segment growing by 5.8 per cent. Once again, the Ford Fiesta was October’s best-selling car and the year-to-date.

‘Despite uncertainty in the European economy, the UK new car market continues to grow, with registrations rising to 151,252 units in October,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. ‘It is encouraging to see the alternatively-fuelled vehicle market performing strongly, too, up 13 per cent so far this year. It is vital that government sustains its consumer incentive programme and maximises the benefits available through the vehicle taxation system.’ The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during October 2012 and for the year-to-date (unit sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 8058 (96,805, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 6285 (78,760, 2nd)
3 Ford Focus: 5834 (70,335, 3rd)
4 Vauxhall Astra: 5754 (52,879, 5th)
5 Volkswagen Golf: 4158 (54,300, 4th)
6 BMW 3 Series: 3762 (38,102, 7th)
7 Nissan Qashqai: 3567 (39,432, 6th)
8 BMW 1 Series: 3029
9 Mini: 2970
10 Volkswagen Polo: 2952 (36,939, 8th)

(The 2012 year-to-date top 10 best-selling cars absent from October’s sales figures are the Mercedes C-Class in ninth place with 32,427 units sold and the Fiat 500, selling 29,215 units in tenth place.)