New car sales fall 22% but manufacturers still confident
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 remained 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.
Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive, said: “There was a significant fall in October’s new car registrations, reflecting the impact of the scrappage scheme at this time last year and some deterioration in consumer confidence.
“The industry expects the coming months to be challenging with slow, but steady, economic growth feeding through to improved confidence and demand during 2011.”
The Ford Fiesta was the most popular car last month, as it has been in the year to date. It was followed by the VW Golf, the Vauxhall Astra and BMW’s 3 Series. Ford’s only other model in the top 10 was the Focus, which is shortly due to be replaced.
The Mini continued to be popular, coming in ninth both for the month and the year to date. Vauxhall’s Astra and Corsa take second and third spots in the best seller table for 2010 with the Focus fourth.
Both Jaguar and Land Rover 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 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%.
BMW saw a 25% rise last month and is 12% ahead for the year. Stablemate the Mini was up 2% for the month and 9.4% for the year to date.
Toyota’s struggles continued with the recall stories reflected in a 35% fall in registrations last month. Over the course of the year, the company is down more than 12%.
Mass market rival Vauxhall fared better and while sales were down 17.5% last month, it is still ahead 3.5% for the year. Ford also struggled, down 30% for the month and 9.5% for the year to date.
Following the end of the scrappage incentives, sales of superminis fell sharply, with Hyundai and Kia both down over 50% for the month.
