Car ownership in Britain shrinks again for first time in 100 years
‘The first consecutive annual fall in numbers in more than a century shows how the pandemic has impacted the industry’
CAR ownership has fallen for two years in a row for the first time in more than a century as consumers are hammered by surging fuel costs and a shortage of new vehicles for sale.
The number of cars owned in Britain dropped by 0.2pc to 35m last year, according to research by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), following factory chaos that has made it harder for manufacturers to deliver their orders.
Meanwhile data show that cars on the road are older than ever before as drivers avoid spending on a newer model. The average car in Britain is now 8.7 years old, up by a year over the past decade, and more than a quarter are more than 12 years old.
It comes after the war in Ukraine pushed petrol and diesel prices to record highs of more than 172p and 182p respectively. The RAC said yesterday that for the first time it costs more than £100 to fill up a tank of diesel.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said: “The first consecutive annual fall in vehicle numbers in more than a century shows how significantly the pandemic has impacted the industry, leading Britons to hold onto their cars for longer. With fleet renewal essential to net zero, we must build consumer confidence in the economy and, for drivers, confidence in the charging infrastructure to get the transition into top gear.”
Lockdowns in China have led to a shortage of microchips which is expected to drag on for years, meaning that new cars cannot be built as quickly as before the pandemic took hold.
Used car prices have surged as a result, rising 22pc in the past year alone, according to the website Auto Trader.
New cars are about 15pc more expensive, the Swiss bank UBS has estimated.
The SMMT is concerned that slowing delivery of new models will hold back efforts to ditch fossil fuels.
While the pace of sales of electric vehicles has been rising rapidly in recent years, with more than one in five sold being chargeable from a socket, they still only account for 2.1pc of cars on the road.
Another 2.2pc are hybrids which use braking to charge up their batteries, and while this greatly increases their efficiency they are still fuelled by petrol or diesel. Most of the remainder, 95.7pc of cars, are still powered purely by petrol or diesel.
Mr Hawes said: “Britain’s switch to electric vehicles continues to gather pace, with a record one in five new car registrations now plug-ins. However, they still represent around one in 50 cars on the road, so there is significant ground to cover if we are to fully decarbonise road transport at pace.”
Shortages have halted production lines and car makers have charged more to recoup their costs.
Despite slipping off the best-buy chart amid speculation that production may be coming to an end, the Ford Fiesta is the most common car on UK roads, with 1.55m vehicles, followed by the larger Focus at 1.15m. The Vauxhall Corsa and Volkswagen Golf each have more than 1m cars on UK roads.