Further fall in new car sales
NEW car sales dipped again last month and are set to continue to fall for the rest of the year, it was claimed yesterday.
A total of 55,305 new cars were registered in August 2010 - 17.5 per cent fewer than in the car scrappage-fuelled month of August 2009, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.
The August decline followed a fall in July - the first for 12 months.
After a huge dip in sales in the first half of 2009, registrations for the second half of last year soared when the car scrappage scheme was introduced.
With the scheme now over, it was expected that sales for the second half of 2010 would show a decline.
“Despite a good start to the year because of government support schemes, car sales at both the national and the local level have been expected to struggle in the second half of this year as support measures disappeared,” said Northern bank chief economist Angela McGowan.
“Austerity plans and economic uncertainty are making consumers remain cautious when it comes to large purchases.”
The pressure would only truly come off the industry when the economic recovery becomes well established, she added.
“Consumers are continuing to focus on cost effective vehicles such as the Ford Fiesta – which according to the figures released today, was the best-selling model in the UK in August. Smaller cars which carry lower running costs in terms of taxation, maintenance and fuel efficiency will remain popular as consumers now attach much more importance to ‘total cost of ownership’ and not just the initial purchase price.”
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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