VW, hybrids see U.K. sales surge in first half

Volkswagen, sister brand Audi, China's MG and electrified cars were big winners during the first half in the U.K., where overall sales were up 18 percent during the period.

VW was the country's No. 1-selling brand in H1 after increasing sales 42 percent. It was boosted by a 196 percent sales increase for the T-Roc small SUV, a 65 percent gain for the Tiguan compact SUV and a 6 percent jump for the Golf compact hatchback, according to figures from market researcher Dataforce.

Audi boosted its volume 27 percent to finish No. 3 behind Ford.

Audi's top-sellers were the A3 compact premium car, up 64 percent, helping it rank No. 11 overall during the half, and the A1 small premium car, up 337 percent (see top 10 table, below).

MG finished the half as the U.K.'s No. 11-selling brand, with sales up 58 percent during the period. The Chinese brand had the fourth-largest increase in total U.K. registrations during the period after VW, Audi and Nissan, according to Dataforce's figures.

"If this growth continues, the brand will fight for a place in the top 10 or even the top five in the coming years," Dataforce analyst Julian Litzinger said.

MG had two models in the country's top 20: the ZS small SUV and HS compact crossover.

Nissan increased sales 45 percent during the half because of strong demand for the new Qashqai, which was the U.K.'s No. 3-selling model during the period.

Nearly half of all Qashqai sales -- 46 percent -- were of the e-Power variant, according to Dataforce.

E-Power, which is Nissan's take on the hybrid drivetrain, is a "series" setup in which the engine does not directly power the wheels. This differs from "parallel" hybrids sold by Toyota, in which the engine can power the wheels directly in some situations.

As a result of adding e-Power variants of the Qashqai, Juke and X-Trail SUVs, Nissan now has a 13 percent share of the U.K.'s hybrid market, which rose 31 percent overall in the half to 118,883 sales, according to Dataforce. Toyota is the market's overall hybrid leader.

The U.K.'s plug-in hybrid sector rose 21 percent to 62,155 sales during the half helped by brisk sales of PHEV variants from Land Rover, which passed BMW for the lead in sales of vehicles with the powertrain, according to Dataforce.

Land Rover sold 8,682 PHEVs during the half to finish the period with a 14 percent share. Its top model was the PHEV version of the Evoque, which accounted for 3,099 registrations in the half.