UK new car market continues to slow | Industry - Car News Sep 2017

12:51 Tuesday 12 Sep 2017

UK new car registrations fell last month for the fifth month in a row.

Latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed a 6.4% fall in August, meaning new car registrations for 2017 to date have dropped by almost two-and-a-half per cent.

Despite the gloom, with 76,433 new cars registered in the UK it’s still the third best August in 10 years, the month traditionally being quiet at buyers hold off for the registration plate change at the start of September.

Sales of SUVs (up by 7.9%), large family cars (2.2%), and executive cars (1.1%) were the only growth areas.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the sales of diesel-powered cars fell dramatically, by a whopping 21.3%. On the other hand, demand for petrol hybrids leapt by 74.9%, pure electric battery powered cars by 62.5%, and plug-in hybrids by 38.5%. Even conventional petrols saw registrations up by 3.8% as the war on diesels escalates further.

With 2,279 units registered, the Volkswagen Golf was August’s best seller, but with 44,218 sold in 2017 to date the Golf still has some way to go to compete with the Ford Fiesta, which has seen 64,988 new registrations so far this year.