UK Car Sales Plunge to Lowest October Level Since 1991
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UK car sales in October have plunged to their lowest level since 1991, according to industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The figures show a continued deterioration in the new car market even after the worst of the Covid pandemic dislocations. Supply chain shortages in computer chips are severely impacting production.
Full-year sales have been revised down by -8.8% and are now expected to come in at 1.66 million vehicles.
Although the data shows a 1.9% increase in sales this year compared to 2020, they are still down 650,000 on pre-pandemic levels.
Car sales down 25% on September 2021
In October just 106,265 vehicles were registered, 25% down on September.
SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes commenting on the latest sales data said: “The current performance reflects the challenging supply constraints, with the industry battling against semiconductor shortages and increasingly strong economic headwinds as inflation rises, taxes increase and consumer confidence has weakened.”
Demand in the private sales sector was off by -3.3% compared to a year ago. On the face of it that’s not much of a decline until the fact that its comparator month was one which was already being battered by the effects of the pandemic on trade.
Large fleet car demand down 40%
However, it is in the large fleet new registrations that demand appears to have fallen off a cliff – demand fell a whopping 40.4%.
In terms of the types of vehicles affected by the weak demand, it was across the board, with the exception of the low volume mini category.
The most sought-after car categories were lower medium (30.7%), supermini (30.0%) and dual purpose (26.6%), all of which increased year on year market share among consumers.
Electric car sales roar ahead
Electric car sales in October have taken off, with a 73% increase in all-electrics compared to October 2020.
SMMT forecasts more electric vehicles (EVs) will be on UK roads in 2021 than appeared between the combined years 2010 to 2019.
Of the total of 106k for October, 16,155 (15.2%) were all-electric cars, 8,382 (7.9%) plug-in hybrids and 8,649 (8.1%) were full hybrids.
Petrol-only cars made up around 45% of the October numbers, with mild-hybrid petrols accounting for 12.4%.
Diesels and mild-hybrid diesels were 6.6% and 4.2%, respectively.
