Car market stabilises in July

The UK new car market remained stable in July, with year-on-year demand growing by 1.2 per cent, according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). 163,898 new cars were registered in the month as the market stabilised following a turbulent first six months.

Although registrations by businesses with fleets of 25 cars or fewer fell by -10.2 per cent, demand from private buyers was up by 0.1 per cent on the same month in 2017. Meanwhile, large fleets grew by 2.6 per cent.

In terms of fuel type, the market followed the trend of previous months, with diesel registrations falling -24.4 per cent as petrol demand grew 20.1 per cent. Meanwhile, alternatively fuelled vehicles enjoyed an uplift of 21.0 per cent, with market share of hybrids and plug-ins reaching a record 6.5 per cent. Growth was particularly strong for plug-in hybrids, up by a third (33.5 per cent), while hybrid registrations grew 17.5 per cent, followed by battery electric cars, up 2.4 per cent.

Year to date, the market remains down by -5.5 per cent, broadly in line with expectations as demand begins to level out. In the first seven months of the year, almost 1.5 million new cars were registered by consumers and businesses in the UK.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said, “The feel-good factor from a sun and sport-packed July, combined with some fantastic deals on a raft of exciting new models, clearly helped keep showrooms relatively busy last month. It’s great to see alternatively fuelled vehicles benefiting from this growth, and government’s acknowledgement of the vital role new-tech diesel will play in its Road to Zero strategy should help more even more motorists benefit from the latest, safest and low emission technology over the coming months.”

NFDA comments

Commenting on the July figures, Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), which represents franchised car and commercial vehicle dealers in the UK, said: “The new car market is up 1.2 per cent in July with 1.5m vehicles sold in the year to date. With the introduction of Worldwide Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) in September 2018, we expect a strong month for new and nearly new sales vehicle sales in August as consumers will have the opportunity to find good deals in the sector”,

Robinson continued, “It is important to consider that a number of factors such as WLTP and VED have been affecting the market this year and will continue to do so over the next few months.

“Despite the decline of diesel, sales of alternative fuel vehicles continue to grow substantially, but their market share is still relatively small. With the introduction of the new emission testing from September, new, compliant diesel cars will remain an appealing choice for new car buyers who regularly drive long distances.”