VW, SEAT & Skoda UK sales DOWN by 20% in wake of Dieselgate

VW, SEAT & Skoda UK sales DOWN by 20%

Sales of new cars from the Volkswagen Group fell by 20 per cent in October – despite overall sales rising – as VW feels the dieselgate backlash.

With all the shenanigans around VW Group and its brands’ (SEAT, Skoda and Audi) diesel-engined cars, it should be no surprise that sales have been affected. But what is surprising is the amount VW UK car sales fell in November – around 20 per cent across the group.

In a market that saw overall new car registrations rise by 3.8 per cent in November 2015 compared to 2014 – and up 8 per cent on last month – VW sales fell by 20 per cent, SEAT by 24 per cent and Skoda by 11 per cent. Even Audi’s sales were down, but by a smaller 4.4 per cent.

In fact, with the exception of Citroen – whose sales also dropped hugely – just about every other car maker saw sales rises in November. But Citroen’s sales drop can be explained by the hiving-off of DS in to a separate brand.

It’s a big blow for VW, who no doubt hoped that despite all the dieselgate issues buyers would remain, but it would seem that buyers are deserting just VW Group cars, rather than moving away from diesel-engined cars in general. The SMMT reports overall diesel sales rose in November by 3.6 per cent.

Vauxhall, Honda and Ford sales jump

So if the UK new car market rose in November, and VW sales fell by 20 per cent, who picked up VW’s customers?

It would seem the big winners were Ford – whose sales rose by almost 13 per cent – Honda – with a jump of 25 per cent – and Vauxhall, who managed to shift nearly 26 per cent more cars in November than they did in 2014.

So it’s clear UK car buyers are still happy to but diesel cars (well, with the UK’s tax system skewed that way, it’s hardly surprising), but they are voting with their wallets on VW and spending their money elsewhere.

All that said, VW’s UK sales are still substantial, and the Golf managed to hold on to fourth spot in November – behind the Fiesta, Corsa and Focus – and the Audi A3 squeaked in at number nine. But the VW Polo – the sixth best-selling car this year before the dieselgate scandal erupted – didn’t even make it in to November’s top ten.