UK new car registrations fell 6.8% in 2018 to 2.37m units, the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) has reported.
Private, fleet and business registrations all fell in 2018, with the biggest losses felt in the fleet sector (down 7.3%), while private motorists and smaller business operators registered 6.4% and 5.6% fewer new cars respectively. However, registrations of plug-in cars reach record levels up by 24.9% and the dual purpose category of vehicle grew by +9.1% to take a fifth of the market (21.2%). Demand for new cars in the UK remains solid, with volumes on a par with the preceding 15-year average, and the market is still the second biggest in the EU, behind Germany, the SMMT says.
In the armored fighting vehicle (AFV) sector, petrol electric hybrids were up 21.3% to 81,156 units.
‘The industry is facing ever-tougher environmental targets against a backdrop of political and economic uncertainty that is weakening demand so these figures should act as a wake-up call for policy makers,’ said Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive.’ Supportive, not punitive measures are needed to grow sales, because replacing older cars with new technologies, whether diesel, petrol, hybrid or plug-in, is good for the environment, the consumer, the industry and the exchequer.’
This story is reprinted from material from the SMMT, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
