Vauxhall sales slow as BL gears up

Vauxhall sales slow as BL gears up
By Derek Harris. Commercial Editor

Vauxhall's storming progress in the British car market, particularlv with sales of its Cavalier, was checked in March as BL's market share surged and that of Ford improved. The change in fortunes appears largely to reflect the pattern of special promotions adopted by manufacturers including increases in dealer incentives. An intense period of promotion by Vauxhall eased at the beginning of March and by the end of the month General Motors' market share, including the sales of its Opel range from West Germany. dropped from the 23 per cent of February to 15.64 per cent. according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

But with BL still heavily promoting its range, its market share rose from 16 per cent in February to nearly 21 per cent in March. Its Austin/MG Metro was the top selling car last month and the Maestro was at number six compared with eighth position in February.  The BL challenge will grow later this month when it launches its LM11 model expected to be called the Montego , which will compete with the Cavalier and Ford's Sierra.