9:50 am, April 26, 2023
The Ford Fiesta is still the most common car on UK roads despite being axed from the manufacturer’s line-up.
Previously the best selling car in the UK for 12 years in a row – between 2009 and 2020 – there are still 1.5m Fiestas in circulation, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
In total, 1,516,560 Ford Fiestas were on the road in the UK last year, said the trade body.
The Fiesta was also named the best selling new car of the year for 2022 with 288,639 finding homes.
However, in October, Ford said it would be killing off the Fiesta nameplate for good after more than 45 years of production.
The last one will be built next month as the manufacturer switches its attention to high profit margin SUVs and crossovers.
Jim Holder, editorial director of What Car? and Autocar, told Car Dealer the loss of the Fiesta would be a blow.
He said: ‘The Fiesta is an icon of our roads – and will be for years to come, such has been its popularity across generations.
‘However buoyant it is about its electric future, there’s no escaping the fact that stopping Fiesta sales is a huge loss to Ford and motorists.
‘Ford and its dealers will lose an entry point to the brand, a perennial best-seller, market share, aftermarket work and recognition, especially as a brand for the people.
‘Drivers will lose a well-priced, hugely capable stalwart that you could spend your hard earned cash on with a certainty that it was money well spent. Despite its ubiquity, the fiesta has never lost its enduring appeal.’
The Fiesta already holds the title for the best selling vehicle EVER, achieved in July 2014, when the car manufacturer ticked over more than 4.1m Fiesta sales since it was introduced in 1976. The total is now more than 4.6m.
Lucy Tugby, marketing director for eBay Motors Group, added: ‘The Ford Fiesta’s status as a popular, desirable and affordable small hatchback already made it the most viewed car on Motors.co.uk, consistently generating the most enquiries for dealers. Having topped the UK’s bestselling new car list for decades, the good news for buyers is supply will not be an issue for many years to come.
‘Since the news broke last year that Ford was ending production, appetite for this small but mighty car is still high. In April alone sub-two year old petrol models were averaging just 17 days on dealer forecourts, suggesting it will continue to be extremely popular as a used car purchase.’
The SMMT’s latest analysis looked at how many cars were on UK roads last year.
It found a total of 35,148,045 cars were in use, up some 124,393 on 2021.
The Ford Focus has the second most models on the road with 1,090,777 registered for use.
Most common cars on the road in 2022
Source: SMMT
- Ford Fiesta – 1,516,560
- Ford Focus – 1,090,777
- Vauxhall Corsa – 1,064,577
- Volkswagen Golf – 1,020,101
- Vauxhall Astra – 762,609
- Volkswagen Polo – 709,197
- Mini – 698,308
- Nissan Qashqai – 637,764
- BMW 3 Series – 528,601
- Toyota Yaris – 520,207
Four cars had more than a million models on the road last year, including the Vauxhall Corsa in third with 1,064,577 and closely followed by the Volkswagen Golf with 1,020,101.
The data was also split into segments and showed that despite Britons love for 4x4s and crossovers, superminis were still the most popular sector of the market with 11,620,116 on the road last year.
Chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘After two tough years, Britain is on the road to recovery with the first growth in car ownership since the pandemic.
‘Better still, we are driving Britain towards a net zero future with more than a million zero-emission vehicles now on the road and cutting carbon.’
