Astra on pole (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Astra on pole

4:18pm Friday 9th July 2010 in

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VAUXHALL sold more cars than any other UK manufacturer in June, with a total of 30,190 vehicles registered last month, according to figures published by the SMMT.

The Astra was also Britain’s best-selling range in June – overall and for fleet – bringing to a close a hugely successful first half-year for the Luton company.

The first six months of 2010 also revealed the sustained popularity of the Astra range, which conquered the hotly contested retail sales battle in its segment, year to date.

Overall this year Ford’s Fiesta is top in England (46,289), followed by Focus (41,250), then the Vauxhall duo of Astra (39,972) and Corsa (36,366).

Fighting off tough competition from both the Focus and Volkswagen Golf, the Astra range – which includes the UK-built Estate and new five-door hatch – sold a total of 14,415 cars in June. In England the chart-toppers were Astra (9,186), Corsa (8,353), Fiesta (6,399), Focus (5,804) and then the Nissan Qashqai (4,439) which topped the sales league in Northern Ireland and was high in Scotland too.

Duncan Aldred, Vauxhall’s managing director, said: “Our June sales prove that we’re ticking all the right boxes with customers when it comes to the quality, performance and value of our cars.

“The new Astra, for example, is perceived as a premium product in its segment, but one that still offers great value for money. The fact that we’re building it in Britain is the icing on the cake.” But the Astra wasn’t the only top-seller from Vauxhall in the first half of this year.

The ever-popular Zafira was revealed as the UK’s best-selling compact MPV overall, with a total of 15,392 sales since January, with a total of over 420,000 sold since the model was launched in 1998.

The Insignia was another segment leader after the half-year. Fighting off stiff competition from the BMW 3-Series, 15,575 cars were sold, reinforcing its position as a market leader for design, technology and driveability.

The new Astra range receives a further boost later this year with the Sports Tourer model. Blending sleek, rakish lines with a cargo capacity of up to 1,550 litres, the Sports Tourer will only be built at in Ellesmere Port for the whole of Europe.