The ten biggest falls so far in 2017:
Jeep (down 50%)
Jeep has been the only bright spot in Chrysler’s last attempt to sell its cars here in the UK. Now under the control of Fiat, Jeep was kept on when the decision was made to drop Chrysler from the UK market, and it looked to be doing well. But new car registrations have halved this year compared to last, making it the biggest fall year-on-year of all the brands on sale in the UK.
After a few years of spectacular growth, the 2017 numbers will make sober reading for Jeep dealers, but fingers will be firmly crossed that the new Compass SUV can help turn that around before the end of the year.
DS Automobiles (down 45%)
With DS Automobiles now being promoted as its own brand, rather than a premium Citroën sub-brand, parent company PSA would have been hoping for better than this. But a line-up that still consists of the same three old re-badged Citroën models, and still largely sold through the same Citroën dealer network, means that convincing the public of its all-newness has been tough.
The bright light on the 2018 horizon, however, is the first genuinely new car to wear a DS badge in the UK. The DS 7 Crossback looks like it could be the best chance the brand has of carving out a decent niche in the British marketplace. However, it will take more than that to make significant inroads, and DS needs to replace its existing range sooner rather than later.
Subaru (down 23%)
Subaru continues to struggle in the UK compared to other markets, where its rugged all-wheel-drive, boxer-engined family vehicles have earned it a strong following. Despite a loyal customer base here, however, Subaru has struggled to find favour with new buyers.
The company will be hoping that new Impreza and XV models will help to turn around its sales performance for 2018, but for the rest of 2017 there is unlikely to be much improvement.
Citroën (down 21%)
The first half of 2017 has been disappointing from Citroën, although the company will be hoping that the highly-praised new C3 hatchback will start to find more homes among UK buyers in the second half of the year. The C4 Cactus and C4 Picasso models continue to win praise, although perhaps not as many customers as Citroën would like.
Hopes are high for two new crossover models that will join the line-up – the C3 Aircross and C5 Aircross models will join the crowded SUV marketplace later this year and early next year, respectively.
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