An industry mole is leaking sensitive and revealing documents not that Im complaining.
The latest submission arrived in the usual brown envelope and comprised eight A4 pages that spelt out last years best- and worst-selling cars in Britain. As the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders officially publishes the Top 10, the popular cars are not of great interest. But the worst performers are a different matter...
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Britain's worst selling cars
The Jeep Commander is a chunky, accomplished 4x4 that recently proved itself durable enough to take me over frozen seas and rivers to the most northerly Inuit settlement in Canada, but its seemingly incapable of selling in Britain. Only 25 were registered in 2008 and thats surprising. It was massively discounted last year and is one hell of a tool. If you crave a go-anywhere, load-lugging, mud-plugging workhorse, they dont come much better. Grab an unused diesel for about £20,000 (or a used one for nearer £10,000) and youll enjoy your ice-crushing, all-wheel-drive lorry.
Alfa Romeo sold only 22 MiTos in 2008, but then the car wasnt properly launched until this year, starting at a tempting £10,745. The Lotus Europa also clocked up 22 registrations, at official prices of between £27,000 and £32,000. Why fewer than two sales per month for a car with such a legendary name? Because the superior Audi TT and Porsche Boxster can be bought for similar money and, beneath the skin, the Europa is merely a Vauxhall.
The Mercedes SLR McLaren attracted 19 buyers, but that makes sense because one of its major attractions is its elitism. The same is true of the Alfa 8C (15 buyers).
Cadillac found customers for 13 Escalades, 12 STS models and nine SRXs, which increases my suspicion that, despite denials, the General Motors-owned brand has effectively pulled out of Britain, along with sister marque Hummer.
In theory, the cheap-looking, mass-produced Toyota iQ microcar-cum-fashion accessory should be a big seller, but it attracted only 16 buyers. To be fair, though, the full launch was held back until early 2009. Trouble is, small and trendy doesnt necessarily mean cheap. At £9,000-£10,000 this is a cramped city car, loaded with nasty plastic and bereft of a boot, but priced like many a spacious family hatchback with serious luggage-carrying capabilities. Ludicrous.
Astonishingly, the Jaguar S-type sold at a rate of just one a month in 2008. True, the XF one of last years five best new cars succeeds the now-defunct S, but isnt there life in the old Jag yet? Could redundant S-type tooling perhaps be shipped to India, home of Jaguars parent company, where local versions might be produced and sold cheaply as the affordable luxury car for southern Asia? If nothing else, such a project would put much-needed cash in Jaguars near-empty coffers.
Since small, fuel-efficient cars are more desirable and publicly acceptable than ever, its shocking that Smart couldnt sell an average of one ForFour per month. And Smarts City-Coupés were registered at a rate of just one per quarter.
The Proton Persona (four sold), Mitsubishi Shogun Sport (three), Kia Cerato (two), Maserati Spyder (two) and MG ZS (two) were among the contenders for the worst-selling unused car in Britain award, but the joint winners (one sale apiece) are the Chrysler Neon, Daihatsu Charade, Dodge SRT-10, Ferrari SuperAmerica, Fiat Croma, Hummer H2, Hyundai Terracan, Hyundai Trajet, Rover 75, CityRover, Smart Cabrio and Tata Safari.
If one of these models was sold and registered to you as a new vehicle between January and December last year, congratulations. You landed yourself one of the most exclusive cars of 2008.
Sweet, I love reading info like this.
