NEW car sales in August were no better than when Bobby Moore collected the Jules Rimet from The Queen.
So says the SMMT, which has just released an extremely gloomy set of new car sales figures.
Volumes plunged by 18.6 per cent compared with August 2007, adding to an overall market that has fallen by 3.8 per cent since the start of the year.
Plainly, this means that dealers in 1966 sold as many cars as we did last month.
‘August is one of the quietest months for the new car market, but this year it was the lowest since 1966 with only 63,225 registrations. The slowdown in the UK mirrors the difficult conditions being experienced across the main European markets,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.
Only around 3 per cent of annual sales occur in August. So declines don’t have to be overly huge in number, relative to other months, to post big per centage differences. But there is further, more worrying evidence that sales are slowing.
Declines have actually been accelerating for the last three months. They account for 89% of the year-to-date drop – 425,000 cars were sold in this period, which represent nearly an 11 per cent fall on 2007.
The key month is thus going to be September. Arguably, with tighter household budgets, the appeal of a ‘new’ car may be all the more strong. Buyers may be intentionally waiting for 58-plate cars, as tightly-managed finances make taking on a new car even more of an event.
We will be interested to hear of any feedback from you during September, to get a feel for how things are going. Do please drop us a line by the usual means with your news… CONTACT US
