According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on January 5, a new record was set in the UK with 2,692,786 cars registered in 2016, the fifth consecutive year of growth, representing a 2.3% increase from 2015.
December 2016 car sales, however, had decreased 1.1% from the same month last year to 178,022 units.
December sales for Ford decreased 10.8% to 20,741 units (11.7% market share), GM Vauxhall decreased 18.0% to 17,074 units (9.6% share), and Volkswagen increased 8.5% to 15,634 units (8.8% share).
BMW sales in December decreased 12.3% to 15,066 units (8.5% share) and Mercedes-Benz sales increased 14.9% to 10,220 units (5.7% share).
Of the five most popular vehicles in December, 8,198 Ford Fiestas; 6,134 Vauxhall Astras; 5,355 Volkswagen Golfs; 4,991 Ford Focuses; and 4,637 Minis were sold.
Compared to last December, diesel-engine car sales decreased by 6.8% to 83,637 units (47.0% share), gasoline-engine car sales increased 4.3% to 88,116 units (49.5% share), and alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) sales increased 8.0% to 6,269 units (3.5% share).
In December, private car sales decreased 5.5% to 67,640 units (38.0% share), fleet sales decreased 0.8% to 102,125 units (57.4% share), and sales to businesses increased 50.9% to 8,257 units (4.6% share).
Light commercial vehicles (LCV) sales of 27,239 units in December represented a 10.4% decrease from very strong December 2015 sales.
However, full-year LCV sales increased 1% to 375,687 units in 2016, the fourth consecutive year of growth.
Sales of commercial vehicles between 2.5 and 3.5 tons decreased 17.3% this December to 16,902 units, though were up 4.8% to 232,948 units for the full year.
Sales of commercial vehicles larger than 3.5 tons decreased 17.2% to 505 units for December, but decreased only 3.9% to 7,685 units for the full year.

(SMMT press releases from January 5, 2017) 1/2