Model 3 second best selling car in the UK in 2021

[Mark-R]

The official SMMT figures for 2021 UK car sales are released at 9am, but the BBC is already reporting that the Model 3 was the second best selling car in the UK in 2021:

Electric car sales soar, but chip shortage hits market

 

[kael13]

So which was the best selling? SMMT figures aren’t super clear after a quick glance.

 

[Mark-R]

So which was the best selling? SMMT figures aren’t super clear after a quick glance.

It will be the Vaxhall Corsa.

 

[PaulMD]

Top 10 cars overall

1. Vauxhall Corsa
2. Tesla Model 3
3. Mini Mini
4. Mercedes-Benz A-class
5. Volkswagen Polo
6. Volkswagen Golf
7. Nissan Qashqai
8. Ford Puma
9. Kia Sportage
10. Toyota Yaris

Top 10 battery electric vehicles

1. Tesla Model 3
2. Kia Niro
3. Volkswagen ID3
4. Nissan Leaf
5. Audi e-tron
6. Hyundai Kona
7. Mini Mini
8. Renault Zoe
9. Vauxhall Corsa
10. MG ZS

 

[Mark-R]

Here are the figures:

 

[Leejmoff]

Absolutely smashing it I would say, especially in December.

 

[MrT3]

That is epic. From outside the top 10 YTD in November to finish 2nd one month later.

Tesla need to accelerate their Supercharger rollout otherwise we will all be queuing soon.

 

[Jason71]

But I thought Tesla had a "demand issue"

I miss 2019 when everyone waved and kids pointed and shouted "Tesla" when I drove past

 

[GRiLLA]

The official SMMT figures for 2021 UK car sales are released at 9am, but the BBC is already reporting that the Model 3 was the second best selling car in the UK in 2021:

Electric car sales soar, but chip shortage hits market

I like the way they immediately turn the conversation to be about 'mixed messages regarding the grant' without stopping to consider that the second best selling car outright has no grant at all.

This is fantastic news for EVs, and particularly to Tesla in the UK. Huge congratulations to the hardworking teams at Tesla for achieving such success by outperforming the competition during a challenging year.

 

[DrJFoster]

But I thought Tesla had a "demand issue"

I miss 2019 when everyone waved and kids pointed and shouted "Tesla" when I drove past

Not sure who's said that, but it's well known everyone else has a supply issue. I hope we can all agree it's a strange market at the moment.

 

[yessuz]

i predict some mayhem at some SC during holiday season...

 

[Fox86]

i predict some mayhem at some SC during holiday season...

I used one for the first time over Xmas (Exeter SC @ Darts Farm) was packed, got the last spot and another 4 Teslas turned up after and had to queue.

I wanted to charge to 90% but the car changed it to 80% and said it was a very busy location

 

[Fox86]

I haven’t looked at these for years now, but amazed to see so little from Ford on there.. . I thought the Fiesta used to consistently feature in the top 3.

The year to date features only features 3 SUVs too, which is surprising.

 

[DaSwede]

Here is the 2021 list. And M3 did indeed sail into the second place. There's a great possibility that Tesla will get the #1 spot this year as we will start seeing MY being delivered as well!

 

[MrT3]

There's a great possibility that Tesla will get the #1 spot this year as we will start seeing MY being delivered as well!

I think the MY will reduce the chances of a Tesla model being number 1 as orders will tend to be divided between the two. As for a manufacturer number 1, VW were nearly 150k vehicles this year and Tesla 35k - I cannot see Tesla making up that amount of ground in a year.

 

[Foucault]

I haven’t looked at these for years now, but amazed to see so little from Ford on there.. . I thought the Fiesta used to consistently feature in the top 3.

The year to date features only features 3 SUVs too, which is surprising.

The Ford Fiesta was the top selling cat in the UK in 2019 and 2020 but Ford have been hit harder than most due to the semiconductor shortage, so they prioritised commercial vehicles and SUVs as I expected they make more money on those than small cars.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

To see the supply effect, here's the top 10 from 2019:

2019 (Full Year) Britain: Best-Selling Car Models in the UK - Car Sales Statistics

In 2019, the Ford Fiesta was again the best-selling car model in Britain followed by the Volkswagen Golf and the Ford Focus.

www.best-selling-cars.com

	Brand & Model	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
1	Ford Fiesta	77,833	95,892	94,533	120,525	133,434
2	Volkswagen Golf	58,994	64,829	74,605	69,492	73,409
3	Ford Focus	56,619	50,492	69,903	70,545	83,816
4	Vauxhall Corsa	54,239	52,915	52,772	77,110	92,077
5	Mercedes-Benz A-Class	53,724	43,527	43,717	NA	NA
6	Nissan Qashqai	52,532	50,546	64,216	62,682	60,814
7	Ford Kuga	41,671	40,398	NA	NA	NA
8	Mini	41,188	44,904	47,669	48,328	47,075
9	Volkswagen Polo	37,453	45,149	47,855	54,448	54,900
10	Kia Sportage	34,502

Model 3's 2021 sales would put it at #10 in 2019.
Massive reduction in sales for Ford.

As the chip supply issues are resolved, people will just be left to get overexcited about the Tesla's distorted sales numbers at the end of quarter.

I'm sure Ford wants to prioritize vehicles higher-margin vehicles like the Fat Fiesta, but they might find they'll just make UK buyers shift to other brands

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

To see the supply effect, here's the top 10 from 2019:

<table>

Model 3's 2021 sales would put it at #10 in 2019.
Massive reduction in sales for Ford.

As the chip supply issues are resolved, people will just be left to get overexcited about the Tesla's distorted sales numbers at the end of quarter.

I think the Ford situation also illustrates the single model dilution of sales when other models come out which may happen with the MY. Ford sales are now split across the Kuga and Puma as well which dilutes other sales. That said, Ford has fallen a lot in the last 12 months.

As a brand, look at annual sales and MG are almost level with Tesla, and both Hyundai and Kia’s growth were double Teslas in terms of units, all of which have credible EV products.

 

[Jason71]

Not sure who's said that, but it's well known everyone else has a supply issue. I hope we can all agree it's a strange market at the moment.

It was what the short sellers use to say (before they all went bankrupt) when they ran out of other reasons to dis Tesla.

 

[Xdama]

I'd say the reason for the BEV figures is purely down to Tesla having the march on all other BEV manufacturers. I was looking at Tesla 3, Mustang Mach E, Kia EV6 and BMW i4. The biggest reason in October for ordering the Tesla for me was delivery time in early December, if either Ford or Kia could have matched that I would have gone with one of them. The delivery dates for either of those was end March/ beginning April and the BMW was autumn 22 iirc.
Truly & honestly after 2 months of lease of the Tesla, I can't say hand on heart I'm still in the honeymoon period. It's already reached the "it's just a means of getting from A to B" phase, which is quite sad really. It may be I just find it pretty "soulless" but that may be a BEV issue or it could be I just thought I'd get used to the no physical controls aspect of Tesla, but it's not my cup of tea.
Everyone has likes and dislikes, it's what makes the human race interesting, the Tesla is to me bland. I will say that modern cars in general though are not a patch on older GTI's etc which had none of the modern gadgets or safety features. Adaptive cruise, lane assist, autopilot, auto wipers are all in the slops bucket for me.