New car sales dip 8% in what is normally busiest month
SALES of new cars dipped almost 8% in March with nearly all manufacturers suffering declines compared to last year.
The figures are disappointing in what is traditionally one of the biggest months of the year for dealers with the new registrations tempting buyers.
Sales of Jaguar and Land Rover were both down while the luxury sector was also hit with sales of Aston Martin and Bentley both falling for the month.
However, more annoying for JLR was that its major rivals – Audi, BMW and Mercedes – all saw monthly increases. BMW was the star, up more than 4% compared to last month and almost 22% for the year to date. Audi sales rose 8% during March, while Mercedes was up almost 6%.
In a further boost to BMW, the Mini also showed strong growth, up more than 17% for the month and a new 10% in the year to date.
Other executive sector manufacturers also saw growth, with Lexus up more than 26% during March and Saab illustrating a major return following its split from General Motors, up more than 50% compared with March last year and 74% for the year to date.
Paul Everitt, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: “The UK saw 366,101 new cars registered in March, demonstrating sustained demand in what is traditionally the biggest month of the year.
“Despite a dip versus 2010, the market remains on course to meet SMMT’s forecast for the year with motorists buying increasingly fuel-efficient and low emitting vehicles across every segment.”
In total, 366,101 new 11-plate cars were registered in March, a decline of 7.9% on 2010. However, March bettered expectations, up 5.9% on 2010 with scrappage volumes excluded.
Registrations in quarter one fell 8.7% to 558,336 units and if the trend continues, the SMMT has forecast the 2011 market will drop 5% to 1.93m units.
One a more positive note, Q1 showed the lowest ever average new car CO2 emissions, down 3.4% to 140.3g/km.
Fleet and business volumes grew in both March and Q1, which the SMMT said demonstrated underlying business confidence that should stabilise the market through 2011.
The most popular new car was the Ford Fiesta, followed by stablemate the Focus, with Vauxhall’s Corsa next followed by the Astra and then VW’s Golf. The picture is mirrored in sales for the year to date.
Other best sellers in March were: Vauxhall’s Insignia, VW’s Polo, Peugeot’s 207, the Mini and BMW’s 3-series.
There was little to cheer for Honda. The data showed a fall in sales of 21.7% for March and almost 15% for the year to date. To make matters worse, the figures were released on the same day that Honda announced it was cutting back production at its Swindon plant because of a shortage of components from Japan following last month’s earthquake and tsunami.
