New car sales crash gloom
DEALERS’ WORST SEPTEMBER SINCE 1999
CAR dealers suffered their worst September sales this century.
Just 328,041 new motors were registered in what is the second most important month of the year because of the number plate change.
But the appeal of having a new 70-plate motor, combined withth model updates and attractive deals, was not enough.
Last month’s registrationtration figure was down 4.4 per centent year on year, the lowest September since 1999, says the Society of Motor Manufacturers andd Traders (SMMT). It follows weak sales over the last two Septembers after regulatory changes linked to new emissions tests caused supply problems across Europe.
Private registrations fell 1.1 per cent last month while demand from business was down 5.8 per cent.
Demand for battery electric vehicles ( BEVs) rocketed 184.3 per cent year on year, to 21,921,903. Last month’s best selling model was the Vauxhall Corsa. SMS chief Mike Hawes said: “During a torrid year, the automotive industry has demonstrate incredible resilience, but this is not a recovery.
“Unless the pandemic is control le controlled and economy-wide consumer and business confidence rebuilt, the short-term future looks very challenging indeed.” A Cars chief James Fair cloug had “Dealerships are frantically playing catch up for the months of sales lost during lockdown.
Karen Johnson, head of reretail and wholesale at Barclays Corporate Banking, said that tthe new car market was “in something of a rut”.