8.2.2005
Successful start into the new year

Overall, the start of the year was one to celebrate for all the GM brands in the U.K. and in Ireland. The biggest market share increase of any mainstream vehicle in the U.K. last month made Astra the star of Vauxhall’s sales in January.

Saab continued their impressive run, increasing sales by a massive 48% on the same period in 2004. Last month, 1,611 new Saabs took to the road – led by the 1.9Tdi engines and the 9-3 Convertible.

And as Daewoo became Chevrolet, registrations of the firm’s range shot up 90.5% to take a full 1% of the overall market. In total, 1,771 Chevrolets and Daewoos were registered – with the Lacetti range accounting for over a third.

Meanwhile, Vauxhall took four of the top ten sellers – led by the 1.4% increase in Astra sales compared to last year. At the top of the manufacturers’ table, Vauxhall cut Ford’s lead to just 1.6 percentage points as Vauxhall moved up to 14.4% (13.7% in 2004). Other big sellers for the brand were Corsa (4th); Zafira (7th) and Vectra (10th).

Opel Ireland made a good start to their target of reclaiming the Irish market’s top spot, reporting a 42% increase in sales – nearly three times the rise in the overall market.