33rd month of growth for car sales
THE continuing strength of the UK new car market has been underlined with a 33rd consecutive month of growth in November.
The new of new registrations was up 8% to 172,327 units. This means 2,310,237 cars have been registered in the year-to-date, a rise of 9.4% and ahead of the 2013 full-year total.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said there seemed no sign of the growth abating in the short-term as it forecast the market would continue to exceed expectations amid still-rising consumer confidence.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT said: “Six months after the record was broken for consecutive monthly growth in new car registrations, the market continues to march on. The figures are an indication of the continuing economic confidence that is driving the new car market, with business, fleet and private registrations all showing strong rises in the month. We expect a more stable market in 2015.”
The society has also welcomed government confirmation of £75m to support ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in the UK. This was announced ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement as part of the Roads Investment Strategy.
“Demand for ultra-low emission vehicles is growing strongly, and we welcome the Chancellor’s commitment to support the chargepoint network for electric vehicles, as well as ULEV R&D in the UK,” added Hawes.
Of the manufacturers, Jaguar had a strong month with its sales growing almost 27% year-on-year, placing it ahead of competitors Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Land Rover did not fare as well, with sales down almost 11.5% year-on-year, although it is still showing growth for the year-to-date.
Ford maintained its status as market leader although its overall sales were down almost 9% year-on-year.
Nearest rival Vauxhall did even worse, with its sales down 15.3% compared with the same month last year. It has maintained its second place in the market share table with 9.66% but it is looking over its shoulder at Volkswagen, which saw its sales leap more than 22% compared with last November, giving it a market share of 9.4%.
