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Caterham sets new sales record as customers rush to buy ‘driver-focused’ cars

  • British sports car maker shifted 670 cars in 2021 – a new record
  • UK dealers continue to make up lion’s share of sales
  • CEO says pandemic has made people ‘re-evaluate what they want from life’
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Time 7:38 am, March 24, 2022

Caterham clocked up its highest ever sales figure last year, the British sports car maker has said.

In total, Caterham shifted 670 cars in 2021 – a 41 per cent increase on 2019, and beating the firm’s previous record-breaking sales of 667.

Though 2017’s figures were boosted by the introduction of the limited-edition Seven SuperSprint, 2021’s sales were made largely through the sale of series-production models.


Graham Macdonald, Caterham’s chief executive officer, said of the record-breaking year: ‘While 2021 saw plenty of challenges across the automotive sector, I’m delighted to announce such positive sales figures for Caterham.

‘The experiences of the last two years have led many people to re-evaluate what they want out of life, meaning Caterham’s philosophy of driver-focused fun and thrillingly pure performance resonates even more clearly than before.’

The new Seven 170 played a key role in this growth, while the Seven 420 – which has been in production since 2015 – was the firm’s best-selling model in both UK and US markets.


Though UK dealers accounted for the largest single allocation of orders with 37.6 per cent, sales also grew worldwide.

The opening of a new dealer in Portugal saw 22 cars sold in the country – more than in the previous decade combined – while sales in Italy trebled year-on-year.

Forty-nine cars were sold in America during the year too, more than doubling the 21 models sold in 2019.

Macdonald added: ‘This is a trend that looks set to continue into 2022 and beyond and, along with the planned expansion of our production capacity, gives Caterham an excellent opportunity to continuing building a strong foundation for the future.’

Macdonald spoke to Car Dealer Live during the pandemic and reported soaring levels of interest in the firm’s products – you can watch it at the top of this story

James Batchelor's avatar

James – or Batch as he’s known – started at Car Dealer in 2010, first as the work experience boy, eventually becoming editor in 2013. He worked for Auto Express as editor-at-large and was the face of Carbuyer’s YouTube reviews. In 2020, he went freelance and now writes for a number of national titles and contributes regularly to Car Dealer. In October 2021 he became Car Dealer's associate editor.



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