According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on February 6, UK car sales increased 2.9% to 174,564 units in January 2017, the highest level since 2005.
January sales for Ford increased 3.4% to 22,778 units (13.1% market share), GM Vauxhall decreased 9.1% to 13,870 units (8.0% share), and Volkswagen increased 7.6% to 12,967 units (7.4% share).
BMW sales in January increased 2.7% to 8,489 units (4.9% share) and Mercedes-Benz sales increased 10.6% to 13,048 units (7.5% share).
Of the five most popular vehicles in January, 8,495 Ford Fiestas; 5,455 Volkswagen Golfs; 4,796 Ford Focuses; 4,230 Mercedes-Benz C-Class; and 4,065 Vauxhall Astras were sold.
Compared to last January, diesel-engine car sales decreased by 4.3% to 78,778 units (45.1% share), gasoline-engine car sales increased 8.9% to 88,507 units (50.7% share), and alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) sales increased 19.9% to 7,279 units (4.2% share), a milestone for AFV vehicles.
In January, private car sales increased 5.0% to 76,729 units (44.0% share), fleet sales increased 1.4% to 91,181 units (52.2% share), and sales to businesses decreased 1.0% to 6,654 units (3.8% share).
Light commercial vehicles (LCV) sales of 21,363 units in January 2017 represented a 1.2% increase from January 2016 sales.
Sales of commercial vehicles between 2.5 and 3.5 tons increased 5.6% this January to 12,617 units.
Sales of commercial vehicles larger than 3.5 tons decreased 16.8% to 391 units in January.

(SMMT press releases from February 6, 2017) 1 / 2