September’s new car market exceeded expectations, with the “57” plate pushing up volumes by 1.3% compared to the same period last year.

All sectors showed growth, with the private market up 1.5%, fleet registrations up 0.6% and sales to businesses operating 25 cars or fewer rising by 8.5%.

September’s performance, with 419,290 new cars sold, puts the UK’s new car market on course to reach 2.35 million units in 2007 – up fractionally on last year.

In the fleet sector, Ford topped the charts with 28,118 sales in September, helping it record 165,589 sales so far this tear – up 0.8% on the same period last year.

Vauxhall sold 26,673 units in September and its total is now 161,301 registrations (up 3.5%).

Volkswagen remains in third place on 88,385 sales year-to-date, with Peugeot fourth on 59,191.

The Astra was the best-selling fleet car in September with 10,362 sales, up 2.3%, with the Ford Focus second on 9,436 (down 16%).

The Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Golf in third and fourth places respectively showed slight gains, while the fifth-placed Renault Megane fell 32% to 5,266 sales.

The Peugeot 207 and Ford Mondeo dipped slightly, while the Vauxhall Corsa in eighth position continued to grow in demand, with sales of 4,925 compared to 2,794 last September.

Rounding out the top 10 was the BMW 3 Series in ninth place, down 11%, and the Vauxhall Vectra in tenth, showing a slight rise in sales.

Elsewhere in fleet, Nissan enjoyed strong demand for petrol-engined Micra and Note models, helping it to tenth place in September’s fleet manufacturer top 10 list, while demand for the new C-Class saw Mercedes-Benz rise to ninth.

Top 10 manufacturers

Company Sept 07 % change
1 Ford 28,116 (0.6)
2 Vauxhall 26,673 (9.3)
3 Volkswagen 16,304 (-3.0)
4 Peugeot 12,037 (-12.3)
5 BMW 10,918 (-12.1)
6 Renault 10,066 (-26.7)
7 Toyota 8,707 (-5.3)
8 Audi 8,644 (16.8)
9 Mercedes 7,468 (17.9)
10 Nissan 7,346 (16.0)

Top 10 fleet models

Model Sept 07 % change
1 Vauxhall Astra 10,362 (2.3)
2 Ford Focus 9,436 (-16.1)
3 Ford Fiesta 7,346 (1.6)
4 VW Golf 5,983 (7.1)
5 Renault Megane 5,266 (-31.9)
6 Peugeot 207 4,999 (-4.3)
7 Ford Mondeo 4,969 (-14.6)
8 Vauxhall Corsa 4,925 (76.3)
9 BMW 3 Series 4,913 (-11.1)
10 Vauxhall Vectra 4,896 (5.1)