The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
(SMMT) released another month of mixed figures for the new car
market in November as sales fell but not as sharply as feared.
Although 134,027 new cars were registered in
November, 5,000 units above expectation, the total was still down
4.2% on October.
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While the year-to-date total of 1,822,065 was
down 4.5% on the first 11 months of 2010, the full-year expectation
now stands at 1.94 million units, 0.88% up on SMMT’s September
forecast of 1.92 million units.
Total new car registrations were down 0.9%
over three months to November compared to the previous year and the
market remains 20% below pre-recession levels.
The SMMT also highlighted that fuel efficiency
for the average car has improved 29.3% in the last 10 years.
Regional analysis
The SMMT also provided new registration data
for the UK regions with Scotland the only one to see a rise
year-on-year rise in the past month, up 1.94% to 11, 794
vehicles.
Northern Ireland, in particular, saw new
registrations fall 18.08%, with drops of 4.19% in England, 6.62% in
Wales and 4.07% across the UK (excluding the Channel Islands and
Isle of Man).
All regions saw a decline in new car sales,
year-to-date compared to the same period in 2010, contributing to a
drop of 4.46% for the UK as a whole.
richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com
