8:05 am, July 5, 2012
NEW car registrations rose 3.5 per cent in June to 189,514 units, the latest figures from the SMMT reveal.
It was the fourth successive month new car registrations grew, and registrations over the first half of the year increased 2.7 per cent to 1,057,680 units.
‘Driven by demand from private buyers, June new car registrations grew 3.5 per cent to push 2012 half year volumes through the one million mark,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.
‘Despite domestic and international economic concerns, UK motorists are responding positively to new products and the latest fuel-efficient technology. The industry has performed better than expected in the first half of the year and we will now need to work hard to sustain growth.’
David Raistrick, UK manufacturing leader at Deloitte, said: ‘While incessant wet weather across the UK has hurt the high street retail sales earlier this year, it does not seem to be troubling car retailers yet.
‘The UK also continues to perform incredibly well in new car sales compared to our European neighbours. Recent months have seen the UK dealerships reporting increased sales as against FY11, while there have been significant contractions, ranging between seven and 19 per cent over the first five months of FY12 in the Spanish, Belgian French and Italian markets.
The new car buyer in the UK is having the confidence to go ahead with their purchase on the basis that all indicators point to interest rates staying low with the added benefit that there are plenty of attractively priced products available to entice customers into the dealerships.’
Sue Robinson, Director of the RMI National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), added: ‘It is very encouraging that new car sales increased again in June with a boost to private registrations of 9.8 per cent.
‘Customers are being tempted back into the showroom with some great offers on new cars. This is coupled with consumers still looking to reduce motoring costs by buying vehicles with lower maintenance costs and better fuel economy. Consumer confidence is however still fragile, particularly with the successive crises within the Eurozone and the recent issues in the banking sector.’
Everitt has also fronted a video produced by the SMMT. See below…
