New car sales slump
* 18.6% down year on year * August traditionally slow * City car sales are soaring...
New car sales fell to their lowest level for 40 years last month.
In total, 63,225 new cars were sold, 18.6% down on August 2007. However, August is traditionally a quiet month as buyers wait until the numberplate plate change in September.
However, emphasising a shift among buyers towards smaller, more efficient cars, sales of city cars doubled, and sales of superminis rose to 33.8% of the total market.
Top-sellers last month were:
1 Vauxhall Corsa 3527
2 Ford Focus 2933
3 Vauxhall Astra 2535
4 Volkswagen Golf 2427
5 Ford Fiesta 2212
6 Vauxhall Zafira 1767
7 BMW 3 Series 1466
8 Citroen C4 1367
9 Ford Mondeo 1342
10 Peugeot 207 1342
Diesels, meanwhile, accounted for 43.2% of all sales so far this year; the Volkswagen Golf is the best-selling diesel in the UK.
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