Plea for Brexit deal as car sales slide
● November’s 3% fall not as bad as feared but outlook remains uncertain
Motor industry bosses have reiterated their call for a Brexit deal to be secured to boost consumer confidence after a fresh fall in car sales.
Some 158,600 new cars were registered across the UK in November, down 3 per cent on the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Registrations are down 6.9 per cent this year compared with the first 11 months of 2017.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “Model and regulatory changes combined with falling consumer confidence conspired to affect supply and demand in November.
“The good news is that as supply constraints ease, and new exciting models come on sale in the months ahead, buyers can look forward to a wide choice of cutting-edge petrol, diesel and electrified cars.”
Sales of petrol models increased by 3.5 per cent last month, while diesels fell 16.7 per cent following even heavier declines in recent months amid concerns about additional taxes and restrictions
0 The Mini, seen here being built in Oxford, was among the best sellers
new year.”
The best-selling car in the UK last month was the new Ford Fiesta followed by the Volkswagen Golf and Mercedes-benz A-class in second and third spots, respectively.
Howard Archer, chief economic advisor to the EY Item Club think-tank, said: “This was a third successive decline in car sales, notably including new sales plunging 20.5 per cent year-on-year in the crucial month of September (when number plates change).
“It may be of limited relief to the sector that new car sales have approached stabilisation after September’s sharp drop, but the fact that there has not been any rebound from September’s slump is disappointing.
“A number of factors may limit private car sales. Despite the recent improvement, consumer purchasing power is still relatively limited compared to past norms while confidence is currently fragile with particular caution over making major purchases.”
James Fairclough, chief executive of AA Cars, said: “In truth, we had hoped that the figures would be slightly stronger, however, we are not overly surprised as the run up to Christmas is a traditionally more muted time for the industry.
“There are also other factors that have caused new car registrations to fall, including the vehicle excise duty upheaval, the introduction of new emissions regulations and the confusion over fuel types.
“Not to mention the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, which may well be causing people to delay their big ticket purchases.
“However, we are optimistic that this bottleneck will clear soon as we expect consumers to take advantage of compelling finance deals in the new year.”