The UK new-car market fell by 20.5% in September (compared with September 2017), according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), with 338,834 vehicles registered — a fall attributed to new testing requirements continuing to “affect supply and distort the market”.
The impact was felt across the board, with registrations by private consumers, fleets and businesses all declining — by 20.1%, 22.4% and 6.3% respectively.
Registrations of petrol and diesel cars also fell, although hybrids and plug-in electrics fared better, up by 3.9%.
Moreover, declines were seen across almost every vehicle segment, with MPVs and specialist sports cars registering falls of 54.8 and 50.9%. Luxury saloons were the only segment to register growth, up 3.5%.
The SMMT (
www.smmt.co.uk) says September’s large decline follows “an unusually high August and a turbulent first eight months of the year, as the market responded to a raft of upheavals, from confusion over diesel policy to VED changes and — latterly — transition to the new WLTP emissions standards”.
Sales performance for the first nine months of the year was 7.5% behind the first nine months of 2017, reflecting these factors and a drop in business and consumer confidence.
“Over the coming months, however, some rebalancing is expected, as new models are certified for sale and backlogs ease”.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “With the industry given barely a year to re-approve the entire European model line-up, it’s no surprise that we’ve seen bottlenecks and a squeeze on supply.
These are exceptional circumstances, with similar declines seen in other major European markets.
"The good news is that, as backlogs ease, consumers and businesses can look forward to a raft of exciting high-tech cars and a market keen to recover lost momentum.”
The British light commercial vehicle (LCV) market also contracted in September, with just under 54,000 new LCVs registered — a fall of 6.1% compared with September 2017.
The SMMT says that overall, the market remains at the historic high levels that have been maintained since August 2015, and pick-ups have enjoyed a 4.6% boost so far this year, with more than 42,000 units registered.