The Ford Puma is still a relatively new product after entering production back in 2019, but the small crossover remains quite popular across the UK and Europe. There, the Puma has routinely ranked among the best-selling vehicles in that part of the world month after month, year after year, and that success continues after it was treated to a refresh for the current model year. Now that figures for November are in, we’re learning that not much changed in terms of sales last month either, as the Ford Puma remains one of the top choices among UK-based shoppers.
According to new data from The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited (SMMT), the Ford Puma came in as the sixth best-selling new vehicle in the UK with 3,073 sales, which ranks it behind the Mini Cooper, Nissan Qashqai, Tesla Model Y, Kia Sportage, and MG HS, as well as ahead of the Volvo XC40, Volkswagen Tiguan, Peugeot 3008, and Hyundai Tucson. This marks a bit of a drop after the Ford Puma ranked second in UK new vehicle sales in October, but it still remains atop the year-to-date sales charts with one month to go – albeit holding on to a very small lead of just 84 units over the Kia Sportage.
As for overall UK new vehicle sales, they declined by 1.9 percent in November to 153,610 units, the second straight month sales have declined and the third in four months. Traditional ICE-powered models dropped by 17.7 percent, followed by diesels at 10.1 percent, while hybrids declined 3.6 percent and plug-in hybrids dropped by 1.2 percent. Meanwhile, EVs increased by 58.4 percent and grew their market share to 25.1 percent, albeit thanks to heavy discounts from manufacturers.
“Manufacturers are investing at unprecedented levels to bring new zero emission models to market and spending billions on compelling offers,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive. “Such incentives are unsustainable – industry cannot deliver the UK’s world-leading ambitions alone. It is right, therefore, that government urgently reviews the market regulation and the support necessary to drive it, given EV registrations need to rise by over a half next year. Ambitious regulation, a bold plan for incentives and accelerated infrastructure rollout are essential for success, else UK jobs, investment and decarbonisation will be at further risk.”
Comment
But in Germany, the first Ford only appears in 53rd place: the Kuga… with poor performance in the region’s largest market… very different from 15 years ago when the brand was the second best-selling in Europe… this new Is the profitability objective really working?