THE Cowley-built Mini was shunted out of the January league table of the UK's top ten best-selling cars by its main rival, the Fiat 500.
Mini sales in the UK shot up more than 30 per cent in January, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, in line with the average for new cars.
SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said: “The 29.8 per cent increase in January new car registrations provides a better than expected start to 2010 for the UK motor industry.
“Scrappage continues to lift demand successfully and today’s announcement of a continuation of the scheme to the end of March will allow the maximum number of people to benefit from the budget that’s still available."
Last year, 216,538 Minis were sold worldwide, compared with 232,425 in 2008, a drop of 6.8 per cent.
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