Data released by the SMMT shows that the UK car market in June was 3.5% down on last year at 234,945 units.
Once again, the UK car market saw a heavy decline in diesel (-28.2%) and the SMMT urged the government to back new-tech diesel in the face of market uncertainty.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
In the first half of the year the market was down by 6.3% on last year at just over 1.3m units.
Demand from larger fleets fell -6.4%, but business buyers with fewer than 25 vehicles on their books returned to showrooms, registering an 11.3% uplift in demand after an 11-month long hiatus. Private demand was largely flat, at -0.6%.
Smaller cars remained most popular, with Supermini and Lower Medium vehicles taking a combined 57.4% market share. However, SUVs were the fastest growing segment, with demand up by some 16.4%.
The SMMT said there was good news for the alternatively fuelled vehicle sector, with a 45.0% increase in plug-in and hybrid registrations as consumers responded to a growing range of models. Petrol cars also attracted more buyers, with demand up 12.3%. However, this growth was not enough to offset continuing decline in diesel registrations, with a 28.2% fall a result of continuing consumer uncertainty over future policy towards this technology.
June capped off a turbulent first half of the year, distorted by the previous year’s VED hikes, with the market experiencing a severe double-digit decline in March followed by a stronger April and May, when year on year demand grew. Year-to-date, overall demand remains down, by some -6.3% to 1,313,994 units.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “Despite a rocky first six months for the new car market, it’s great to see demand for alternatively fuelled vehicles continue to rise. Given these cars still represent only one in 20 registrations, however, they cannot yet have the impact in driving down overall emissions that conventional vehicles, including diesels, continue to deliver. Recent government statements acknowledging the importance of petrol and diesel are encouraging. However, we now need a strategy that supports industry investment into next generation technologies and puts motorists back in the driving seat, encouraged to buy the car that best suits their needs – whatever its fuel type.”
Sue Robinson, Director of the NFDA, commented: “The new car market moderately declined by 3.5% in June, influenced by a further reduction in diesel vehicles sold. The market appears to be recovering after a challenging year so far, with Q2 sales up 2.3%, and we look forward to a more positive second half of the year.”
