Are you curious about which brands supply the most boilers in the UK?
If you want to choose the right boiler for you, it’s always a good idea to look at the best-selling boiler brands. It’ll give you a good idea of the market and brands which are doing particularly well at the moment. After all, you won’t want to buy a boiler and then two years down the line not have any support or parts available (bit of an extreme example).
It’s about more than that, though. It’s also about knowing you’re buying from a brand which is known for quality, customer service, and a reliable guarantee. Plus a dedication to providing trained engineers who specialise in only that brand. It’s about knowing the company will be there, without being swallowed by another company.
Think about Halstead, and Dimplex. Malvern’s another name you don’t hear much of anymore when it comes to the domestic market. If you bought one of those 10 or 12 years ago, you’ll now find it difficult to source parts.
So, let’s take a look at the best-selling boiler brands, shall we?
What’s the best-selling boiler in the UK right now?
With over eight years as Which’s ‘Best Buy’, Worcester Bosch is still the current market leader. Last year, they sold 490,000 boilers in the UK! And why are they doing so well? Well, it comes down to a lot of things.
Here’s what a Which? Trusted Trader heating engineer had to say on the matter:
“It’s a first-class product and a first-class service all round. It’s aftersales is second to none, and it has a fantastic ethos for customer relations and service.”
How are the rest measuring up?
Next in line is Ideal, which 15 years or so ago would have been surprising. However, now they’re back at the top of their game, having sold 415,000 boilers last year. So, does Worcester Bosch have to watch out? Well, maybe.
After all, Ideal IS offering an amazing 12-year guarantee right now. And just between you and me, I’m pretty sure that has something to do with the staggering amount of market share they’ve managed to accumulate recently.
Baxi is the third best-selling boiler brand, having sold 300,000 boilers. They’re also at the top of their game right now, and for a while it seemed like there wasn’t much between them and Ideal.
But wait – here’s the real punchline. Vaillant only sold 40,000 boilers in 2017. This is quite a turn of events, because 10 – 12 years ago, they were no.1 in the market and sold more boilers than anybody. Goodness knows what happened.
Veismann are behind them at only 35,000. Then follows the likes of Ariston, Alpha, Vokera… not particularly big players.
Why is it important for you to know this?
I like to keep my eye on these things, because it’s a bit like any big brand that sells cars, for example. The companies that supply more are the market leaders, they tend to be able to put more into things like research and development, but they also have more staff, more backup and better support in place.
Other companies have to grow correctly if they’re going to grow at all, and have enough staff, support, manpower and customer service to deal with it. Imagine dealing with a company like Volkswagon, for example. They’re able to put so much more money into dealing with scandals or issues they’ve had. Things that would have broken other companies.
Ask yourself; do you really want a boiler for the next 10 – 12 years from a company with no backup, who might not even be around in five years time? Unless you’re planning on moving house in a couple of years, I’m sure the answer is no.
Advice from an experienced engineer
I’d say, stick with the top five brands, and you won’t go far wrong. The likes of Worcester Bosch, Ideal, and Baxi are probably your best bet right now. Saying that, even companies like Ariston are quite big and won’t be pulling out of the market any time soon.
Stick around for names you’ve heard of, and remember, things are always changing. So, ensure you go online to check they’re still getting good reviews, and that you’re going to get a good guarantee at the end of the day. If a guarantee looks good, double check the fine print. Ensure you won’t get any credit card fees for call-outs, and that the company has dedicated engineers.
Finally, go with your gut instinct. We’ve all bought things cheaply, and know that they’ve not been the best quality. If it’s something you’re going to be using and relying on every day, spend as much as you can afford.
Conclusion
I hope I’ve managed to be of some help when looking for the best-selling boiler brands. Worcester Bosch currently supplies the most boilers in the UK, but Ideal are hot on their tails. I’ve supplied all the figures above, so you can make your own assumptions.
What do you think of these boiler manufacturers? Do you have a question about any of these brands? If so, let me know in the comments. I’m always happy to help!
