In yet another hectic month for new car sales, the Mini hatch topped the best-sellers chart as car registrations grew 2% in November.
Ongoing supply problems continue to plague almost every car brand, with individual results up or down depending on whether manufacturers can get enough computer chips to be able to build cars. Once again, that has led to a jumbled-up best-sellers’ list.
Despite the appearance of the Ford Focus in November’s rankings, it was yet another disastrous month for Ford, which has been struggling to supply its popular Fiesta supermini and Puma crossover models. Across more than 300 UK dealerships, Ford only managed to shift about 101 Fiestas and 126 Pumas in the entire month. Given that these are two cars that would normally be a regular fixture in the top ten, it made a large dent in Ford’s overall numbers – selling 50% fewer cars than November last year.
We’ve published our normal report on the monthly new car registration figures, with plenty of detail that you won’t find elsewhere. So let’s now look at the mixed-up top ten results for November 2021.
The UK’s top-selling cars, November 2021
1. Mini hatch
The Mini continued its sales ranking surge to take top spot for November, after just missing out in October. Despite being the oldest car in the top ten, the twice-facelifted Mini continues to sell strongly some seven years after the current model was launched, and its sales performance in the latter half of this year means that it has crept into the 2021 best-sellers list with one month to go.
For patriotic flag wavers, this is the first time in a long time that a British-built car has topped the sales charts, which is welcome news for all of Mini and BMW UK employees.
The Mini hatch still holds a very solid score of 76% in our Expert Ratings index, which is one of the top scores in its class. The electric version doesn’t score so well, with an Expert Rating of only 63% that puts it close to the bottom of its class.
2. Vauxhall Corsa
With just a month of 2021 left to go, it’s now beyond doubt the Vauxhall Corsa will be the first car in a dozen years to depose the Ford Fiesta as the UK’s most popular new car.
Securing second place for November, the Corsa extended its lead in the sales race to almost 9,000 units as challengers like the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and Volkswagen Polo failed to close the gap.
Despite its popularity, the petrol and diesel versions of the new Corsa hold a rather poor Expert Rating of 64% on our industry-leading Expert Rating Index, with the all-electric Corsa-e holding the same score. Those scores put the Corsa in the bottom half of the supermini class, suggesting that journalists are not as excited about the Corsa as customers seem to be.
3. Tesla Model 3
After topping the sales charts in September, the Tesla Model 3 secured another top-three result for November, after being notably absent from the top ten in October. The American company continues to dominate the electric car scene, which will have other manufacturers scratching their heads as to why their own EVs are not selling up a storm in the same way.
The Tesla Model 3 currently holds an Expert Rating of 84% according to our industry-leading Expert Rating Index, which is much higher than an Audi A4 or Mercedes C-Class, and just behind the BMW 3 Series.
4. Hyundai Tucson
On the back of a strong sales showing in October, the Hyundai Tucson improved on its tenth place finish last month to be the fourth best-selling car in the UK for November. Hyundai (including Kia) has managed to maintain its production levels much better than most rivals during the semiconductor crisis, which has no doubt helped Tucson sales compared to many rivals.
It will be interesting to see if the all-new Kia Sportage – closely related to the Tucson – can enjoy a similarly successful launch in coming months.
The Hyundai Tucson currently has an Expert Rating of 76%, which places it well in the top half of all of the medium SUV marketplace according to our industry-leading Expert Rating index.
5. Ford Focus
In what was a disastrous month for the Ford brand as a whole, the manufacturer can take some small relief from the resurgence of the Ford Focus, which was ranked fifth in the best-sellers list for November, down from its fourth place finish in October.
Previously one of the most popular cars in the country, the Focus has spent most of this year outside the top ten. It’s due a facelift that will arrive in the UK in early 2022, so this may be the last we see of the current version.
In terms of critical appraisal, the Ford Focus currently holds a score of 76% on our Expert Ratings Index, which is level with its fierce rival, the Volkswagen Golf.
6. MG ZS
Making its first appearance in the top ten sales rankings, the MG ZS was the sixth best-selling car in the UK for November, as MG continued its impressive sales upswing, selling almost four times more cars in the past month than they could muster in November 2020.
The combustion-powered version of the MG ZS is far more popular with the general public than journalists, as it is currently one of the lowest-rated cars in our Expert Rating Index, with a score of 41%. The all-electric ZS fares better, currently holding a score of 56%.
7. Nissan Qashqai
The all-new Nissan Qashqai continued its strong debut by placing in the top ten best-sellers list for the third month running, dropping to seventh in November after securing a top three finish the month prior.
Nissan will be hoping that it can maintain production levels to keep up this momentum heading into the final month of 2021, as the Qashqai is firmly on track to appear in the overall best-sellers list for 2021.
We have compiled our Expert Rating report for the new Qashqai since last month’s registration report, and it puts Nissan’s latest contender right in the midfield with a score of 71%. It’s still early days and there’ll be more reviews to be published, so this could change – either up or down – in coming weeks.
8. Mercedes-Benz A-Class
Another commendable month of steady sales sees the Mercedes-Benz A-Class feature in the top ten best-sellers once again, though its eighth-place finish is rather overshadowed by the third place the A-Class earned in the same month last year.
Fortunately for Mercedes, Volkswagen’s top-selling models missed out on the top ten altogether in November. That means that the A-Class has managed to leapfrog both the Golf and the Polo to sit second in the year-to-year sales chart, as the very tight battle between Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen for the ‘best-of-the-rest’ title heads into the final month of the year.
The A-Class has an Expert Rating of 69% in The Car Expert’s unique aggregated Expert Rating index. It ranks highly for safety, winning awards from Euro NCAP and Thatcham over the years for its protective qualities.
9. Volkswagen T-Roc
Although the Golf and Polo failed to rank in the top ten in November, the Volkswagen T-Roc crossover was able to secure a ninth-place finish, its first appearance in the top-sellers list since February. As Volkwagen shifts the remainder of its 2021 T-Roc stock, this is likely the last we will see of the current model, before the crossover gets a facelift in early 2022.
The T-Roc currently holds an Expert Rating of 71% in our industry-leading Expert Ratings index, which puts in the top half of the small SUV field.
10. Volvo XC40
The Volvo XC40 rounds out the top ten best-selling cars for November, its second appearance in these rankings in two months. Despite being on sale for nearly four years, the XC40 continues to sell well and remains highly rated by critics.
The XC40 is the class leader among premium small SUV/crossover models, with an Expert Rating of 79%, for the petrol/diesel/plug-in hybrid version. The new electric XC40 Recharge doesn’t fare quite so well, with an Expert Rating of 68%.
