New car registrations in Britain declined by 30.5% in March to stand at 313,912 units, intensifying calls for a German-style scrappage incentive to lift volume.
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The SMMT said that the car market in the first quarter was 29.7% below year-ago levels and that car sales for the year could now slide below 1.7m units.
“March new car registrations are a barometer of confidence in the economy, from businesses and consumers alike. The fall in the market shows that government needs to do more to boost confidence,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.
“A scrappage scheme will provide the incentive needed and the evidence is clear that schemes already implemented across Europe do work to increase demand. The UK is the only major European market not to implement a scheme.”
The slowdown continues across all sales types, fuel types and segments – although once again the mini segment bucked the trend and rose 84.0% in March following the arrival of new models over the last 12 months.
The Ford Fiesta was the best selling model for a fifth successive month in March. The relative success of the Fiesta and other superminis helped the segment share of the March market rise to 36.6%, up from 35.9% last March.
