11:48 am, October 5, 2021
The Tesla Model 3 was September’s best-selling new car while the Vauxhall Corsa strengthened its grip as the most popular car sold so far in 2021, new figures show.
While new car registrations continued to struggle last month, sales of battery electric vehicles soared to a record 32,000.
That is reflected by the fact that the all-electric Model 3 was Britain’s best-selling new car with 6,879.
It was closely followed by the ever-popular Vauxhall Corsa on 5,235, which remains the best selling car overall in 2021.
An impressive 32,616 Corsas were sold over the first nine months of the year – 6,010 more than it’s nearest rival, the VW Golf.
Other models to perform well in September were the BMW 3 Series on 4,788 and the Toyota Yaris on 4,364.
The likes of the Nissan Qashqai (4,118 sales), the Kia Sportage (4,104 sales) and the VW Polo (4,062 sales) also proved popular.
The top ten was rounded off by the Toyota Aygo (3,857 sales), the Kia Niro (3,776 sales) and the VW Golf (3,609).
The news that the list has been topped by an all-electric vehicle has been welcomed by experts.
Jim Holder, editorial director, What Car?, said: ‘Electric vehicle sales are perhaps the only positive the industry can currently look forward to, with September seeing another extremely strong month for registrations.
‘With growing numbers of electric and plug-in vehicles on the road, it’s important the charging infrastructure keeps pace with the uptake from electric drivers.’
Across the year as a whole, Ford’s Fiesta and Puma models are performing well with 26,360 and 26,129 sold respectively.
They are followed by the only Mercedes on the list – the A Class – which has seen 24,944 sales.
The VW Polo (24,422 sales), the Kia Sportage (24,400 sales) and the Toyota Yaris (23,369 sales) also made the top ten along with the BMW 3 Series (23,253 sales) and the Nissan Qashqai (22,535 sales).
