The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revealed the list of the hottest marques off the forecourts in 2019, with some surprise entries in to the top ten list.

There’s no surprise to find that yet again Ford are dominating the figures, with the Fiesta and Focus showing strongly for April and overall for the year. The Fiesta has sales of 5,606 for April and a total of 29,080 for the year as a whole, meanwhile the Focus pipped perennial rival, Volkswagen’s Golf, to second spot in April. The Golf still sits second in the year-to-date figures with a total of 21,365 but is now just over 100 units more than the Focus.

There was some good news for Volkswagen, with April proving to be a good month for the Tiguan and Polo, the former entering the top ten despite not being in the top eschalon for the year. The Kia Sportage and MINI drop out of the top ten in April at the expense of the Tiguan and the Hyundai Tucson which is putting in strong sales figures.

Overall new car registrations are down in 2019, with a 4.1% slump in figures, and despite the alternative fuel market growing, the sale of plug-in hybrids has dropped sharply by more than a third, with the SMMT suggesting a cutback in financial incentives being behind the slip.

“We need policies that help get the latest, cleanest vehicles on the road more quickly and support market transition for all drivers,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive.

“This includes investment in infrastructure and long-term incentives to make new technologies as affordable as possible.”

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