The Scotsman

Brexit and Dieselgate blamed as new car sales fall for fourth consecutiv­e month

-

New cars sales fell again last month as the country continuest­o feel the effects of thebr exit vote, Diesel gate and changes to vehicle tax.

Figures from the Society of Motor Manufactur­ers and Traders (SMMT) show a 9.3 percent decline in new registrati­ons compared with last July.

July is the fourth consecutiv­e month of falling sales in theuk, with diesels once again particular­lybadly hit–sales were down 20.1 per cent. Petrol car sales were down three per cent but alternativ­ely fuelled vehicles reached a new record market share of 5.5 per cent – a 65 per cent increase on last year.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said :“The fall in consumeran­d business confidence is having a knock-on effect on demand in the new car market and government must act quickly to provide concrete plans regarding Brexit.

“While it’s encouragin­g to see record achievemen­ts for alternativ­ely fuelled vehicles, consumers considerin­g other fuel types will have undoubtedl­ybeen affected by the uncertaint­y surroundin­g the government’ s clean air plans .”

Alex Buttle, director, car buyingcomp­arisonwebs­itemotorwa­y.co.uk, warned: “2017 is starting to feel like the auto industry’ s ann us horribil is. this could be the beginning of a deep recession for the new car industry,the likes of which we haven’ t seen since the credit crunch.

“And the Government seems to enjoy kicking diesel while it’s down, by announcing that new diesel and petrol cars will be banned from 2040.

“While record AFV sales in July is an impressive headline, we are talking about less than 10,000 sales – a tenth of the new petrol cars being sold.

“This brings into sharp relief just how much the AFV market needs to grow in a relatively short space of time - and the clock is now ticking.”

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom