New car sales fell 22% last month

SALES of new cars fell by more than 22% in October as consumers waited to see how they were likely to be affected by the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the decline had been expected and although it said the downward trend was likely to continue for the remainder of the year, it was confident that figures for the full year would still see a rise on 2009.

In total, 131,495 vehicles were registered last month, a 22.2% fall on the same month last year. The market remains up almost 5% for the year to date but the SMMT said with further falls likely in November and December, the full year figures were likely to show a rise of around 1.5% on 2009.

The SMMT said one critical factor was the scrappage scheme, which was still operating this time last year. It said that of the scrappage volumes were excluded from October’s figures then the overall sales were on a par with 12 months’ ago.

Both Jaguar and Land Rover, which makes the Freelander and the new Evoque in Halewood, Merseyside, struggled last month, down 38.6% and 27.9% respectively. Jaguar shows a decline of almost 9% in the year to date but Land Rover – on the day its 1,000,000th Range Rover rolled off the production line at Solihull – is still more than 32% ahead for the year.

Another luxury brand to buck the downward trend was Crewe-based Bentley. Its sales were up almost 52% in October when compared with the same month last year while for the year to date, the firm is still up more than 30%. 

Meanwhile, the one millionth Range Rover rolled off the production line at the Land Rover factory in Solihull yesterday. The vehicle is 40 years old this year.