The UK new car market will fall by 3.5% in 2017, UK data provider Glass’s has said.

This would likely bring the UK new car market to around 2.6m for the year, which Glass’s noted was higher than any year of the past decade, except for 2016.

As a result, Rupert Pontin suggested 2017 will still see ‘very good performance’ in recent historical terms.

He said: “We should certainly not be feeling as though there is any kind of crisis underway and the underlying strength of the economy will be quite good. Conditions are simply likely to become a little more difficult.”

As a disclaimer, Pontin added that 2017 was probably the most difficult-to-forecase year in recent memory, noting: “This year has, of course, been one of almost unprecedented political and economic shocks, but the new car market has proven remarkably resilient.
 
“The question that is difficult to answer is, given that these shocks are working their way through the system, will that resilience continue into 2017?”

Glass’s said its view was that the economy will remain relatively strong, but that a number of effects, notably resulting from the weaker pound, would start to emerge. This would include increasing fuel prices, and additional costs importing cars.

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