HOT: Sprinter enjoyed sharp 24.1% May gain
Mercedes-Benz enjoyed record-breaking May sales and Mitsubishi have become the UK’s fastest-growing car brand, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders figures have revealed.
The German manufacturer posted a record 16.5% rise in May registrations (8,326 cars), meaning a growth of 13.9% for the year-to-date (44,615 cars).
Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles registrations saw the Sprinter panel van achieve a 24.1% May gain (1,261 vans) – up 15.2% for the year so far.
Other highlights included strong performances by the Coupe and Roadster, with the C-Class, CLS-Class, E-Class and SLK-Class each achieving significant monthly gains.
The Smart Fortwo posted a whopping 78.9% rise, with a number of these being used by car-sharing service car2go.
Meanwhile, Mitsubishi’s sales are running almost 50% ahead of last year, as the manufacturer continued to enjoy a buoyant 2013 with a 24% May rise.
The figures make Mitsubishi the fastest-growing car brand in the UK, with the Outlander and Mirage models performing particularly well.
Ford has retained its position as market leader in both cars and commercial vehicles, with an 11% car sales increase for May (180,111 cars) and 9.3% for 2013 (948,666 cars).
However, despite remaining the UK’s top commercial vehicles supplier with year-to-date figures enjoying an overall 6.1% rise (30,028 cars), May sales were down 6.5%.
Medium commercial sales for the year to date were up to 25,413, with the Transit leading the one-tonne, two-tonne and 3.5-6.0tonne CV segments.
Ford Fiesta van also leads its segment, taking a 58.7% share for the year-to-date.
The van’s car counterpart is the most popular car in the country, and outsold its nearest rival by more than two to one in May with 9,316 registrations.
Elsewhere, Citroen and Suzuki also posted impressive May and year-to-date sales figures, showing substantial growth in each category.
