2:35 am, January 7, 2012
NEW car registrations in December were down 3.7 per cent, the latest SMMT figures reveal.
The month saw 119,188 units registered, and the market in quarter four was down 1.8 per cent. December was the 10th monthly decline in the year.
December’s decline contributed towards 2011’s fall of 4.4 per cent in total. Compared to the year before, 2011’s market was down but was ahead of the SMMT’s prediction of 1.92m units, amounting to 1.94m.
The month’s best-selling car was the Ford Fiesta which recored sales of 5,411.
The SMMT’s prediction for 2012 new car market is that it will be ‘broadly stable with firmer recovery expected in 2013’.
‘2011 proved to be a challenging year for the UK motor industry. Total new car registrations were slightly ahead of industry expectations at 1.94 million units, still down 4.4 per cent on 2010,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.
‘Weak economic growth will make trading conditions tough in 2012, but record numbers of new and updated models, significantly improved fuel efficiency and exciting new technologies will help to encourage consumers into showrooms. Business and consumer confidence will be the key to a successful year, so it will be important that government delivers on its growth strategy and helps to resolve instability in the Euro Zone.’
