Registrations fall as Britain votes leave | Industry - Car News Jul 2016

09:41 Monday 11 Jul 2016

New Car Registrations drop for only second time in four years after a strong first half of 2016. Is this an early sign of things to come post Brexit?

As the Brexit hangover is sinking in, more doom and gloom is on the horizon! Leaders in the Motor Industry are showing signs of panic, or rather Branic, and are urging the government to give the Industry the support it needs.

New car sales have gone from strength to strength over the last 4 years; last October saw the first decline in sales after 43 consecutive months of growth. Since that decline registrations have hit another record according to SMMT, reaching a record 1.42 million in the first half of this year. However, there was a 0.8 per cent drop last month, and many, including Ratings agency Fitch, are citing consumer uncertainty in the face of the referendum as a possible reason.

It could be more likely that the recent drop is down to registrations reaching a plateau following such unprecedented growth. Either way, a 0.8 percent drop is hardly worth going into meltdown over. SMMT Chief executive Mike Hawes may have settled some nerves with his comment:

“It is far too soon to determine whether the referendum result has had an impact on the new car market. The first six months saw strong demand at record levels but the market undoubtedly cooled over the second quarter”.

He also added that the government need to do anything they can to restore business and economic confidence, something I am sure we can all agree on.

Furthermore, there is the worry that potential post Brexit tariffs may lead to car manufacturers moving production sites out of the UK. Toyota have already stated that the long term success of its UK plants will depend on successful trade negotiations with the EU. With other manufacturers echoing that stance, and opinion on our negotiation power split, the 800,000 people in the UK employed by the motor industry might have cause for concern.

On the other hand Jaguar Land Rover have set a more hopeful example by opening its £20m Technical Centre in Coventry, with John Edwards, the special operations MD, reassuringly stating it is “business as usual”, despite Brexit.