NEW CAR registrations in September dropped 8.8% according to the latest SMMT figures. Registrations in the month totaled 353,494. This figures includes 187,791 private vehicles(down 1.9%), 134, 478 fleet cars (down 13.8%) and 31,225 business vehicles (down 21.1%).
Registrations for the first 9-months of the year now stand at 1,797,755. That’s a 1.2% drop over last year’s levels, but the Society says it is still expecting to reach 2.223m units by the year end.
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Although private sales were down, the plate change caused the private sector registrations to increase its share of the new car market by 4% to 53%. The SMMT comments that ‘supply problems’ for several manufacturers caused disruption in actually transporting cars to customers.
The Ford Focus held its position at the top of the best-sellers list and the Peugeot 206 climbed to third place in September. The BMW 3 series made a rare appearance. Superminies, however, dominated the list, reflecting the strength of the private buyer.
Top 10 registrations Sept 2000
1. Focus 17,740
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By GlobalData2. Corsa 16,144
3. 206 15,813
4. Fiesta 15,136
5. Mondeo 12,748
6. Astra 12,098
7. 3-Series 10,436
8. Ka 9.066
9. Vectra 8,913
10. Golf 8,647
Diesel penetration increased for the fifth month in succession in September; that’s the seventh time this year. Diesel registrations over the year have risen by 1%. And it could rise further, comments the SMMT, as fuel economy becomes increasingly important. The government’s reform to VED next March could affect this.
