9:05 am, December 5, 2013
NEW car registrations in November grew by seven per cent to 159,581 units, according to the latest SMMT figures.
Registrations year-to-date climbed 9.9 per cent to reach 2,111,819 units, recording the month’s best performance since 2004.
The car market is on target to hit SMMT’s forecast of 2.25m registrations for 2013.
SMMT chief executive, Mike Hawes, said: ‘Motorists have bought more than two million cars so far in 2013, a tremendous success for the industry on the back of buoyant consumer confidence and innovative new products.
‘With the UK economy looking increasingly positive, we can expect strong underlying demand for new cars to continue into 2014, with volumes set to match or surpass those seen this year.’
Commenting on the SMMT figures, Richard Lowe, head of retail and wholesale at Barclays, said: ‘The 21st consecutive monthly increase in new car registrations underlines the continuing strength of the UK market, despite some expectations that November’s sales would slow down as we enter the winter months.
‘Some stabilisation in the coming months would be welcome in order to prevent the market from overheating. Looking forward to 2014, we should expect to see a slower rate of growth in the UK, whilst our key European neighbours start to play catch-up.’
Derek McAllan, KPMG’s head of automotive retail, said: ‘The latest figures show once more that the UK market continues to power onwards and upwards, driven by improving economic conditions and rising house prices, feeding consumer confidence and private demand. This will likely continue into 2014 and maybe beyond.’
McAllan added: ‘The outlook for the UK market in 2014 remains bright with sales currently predicted to match or to be better than in 2013.’
