The decline of -4.1% in new car sales in July shows that the Government must secure a Brexit deal which provides clarity to businesses and consumers.
New passenger car registrations declined by -4.1% with 157,198 units registered in July according to the latest SMMT figures.
Private demand declined by -2.0% and fleet -4.7%. Sales of petrol cars rose by 2.6%, diesel was down -22.1%, while pure electric vehicles saw an impressive growth of 158.1% in July 2019 compared to the same period last year and 70.6% year to date. Year to date, the market is down from last year by -3.5% to 1,426,443.
While registrations of petrol vehicles rose marginally and diesel declined, sales of pure electric cars increased substantially despite significant supply challenges. Retailers are making important investments to meet the fast-growing demand in this sector.
The latest NFDA Consumer Attitude Survey showed that almost one in three UK consumers are undecided about the fuel type of their next car. While franchised retailers continue to work hard to inform their customers, a stable political and economic environment, with clear policies, is essential to support our industry going forward.
Franchised retailers continue to be viewed as the most trusted and safest option in sales and aftersales, and we continue to work with customers and manufacturer partners to stimulate growth in the sector.
