Sales race in Britain

Press, 30 June 1983, Page 20

Sales race in Britain

After a couple of months at the top of the tree, Ford Sierra May sales plunged in Britain to drop to fifth place on the top 10 list. The Sierra topped the March and April charts, but the picture was not all it seemed to be. Ford had invested millions subsidising its dealers by offering up to £ 500 for each car they registered as demonstrators. In May, Ford continued to to subsidise its dealers, but not the same extent as it had done in the two previous months, and some dealers were still offering new Sierras, with delivery mileage only, up to £lOOO under list price. However, when the month ended and the people most concerned about the state of the British car market had done their sums, it was found that the Ford Escort was on top and the Vauxhall Cavalier had moved to second place. Unlike New Zealand, where the new car market is dragging its feet, British sales have raced off at breakneck pace. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported _that May

sales, totalling 145,777 cars, represented a 20 per cent rise on the same month last year. For the first five months of the year, sales were up 17 per cent, at 787,895, compared with 672,264 for the same period in 1982. The top 10 British sales picture in May shaped up with the Ford Escort at the top with 13,200 sales and the Vauxhall Cavalier and Austin Metro next, with 11,957 and 11,869 respectively. Then came the Ford Fiesta (10,828), Ford Sierra (10,322), Vauxhall Astra (6090), Austin Maestro (5617), Datsun Sunny (3774), Triumph Acclaim (3272) and Datsun Cherry (2616). Although Ford was the top-selling car-maker in Britain in May, gaining 26.4 per cent of the market, the nose-dive in Sierra sales must be causing some disquiet among the top people in Ford Europe. In fact, there is already talk that a re-skinned version of the Sierra, which will feature modified side panels to increase the glass area of the car, will hit the market early next year.