Car sales rise for first time in more than a year
New car sales rose July for the first time since April 2008.
New car registrations last month came to 157,149, a rise of 2.4 per cent on the previous month and the first sign of growth within the motoring industry in 15 months.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) which released the figures, says that the growth in car sales is largely thanks to the scrappage scheme. Proof of this is displayed through the growth of registrations from private buyers, which were up 33.4 per cent in July and through growth of registrations of small cars with the mini segment registrations more than trebling in July from 2008, while supermini volumes rose 15.7 per cent to account for 37.5 per cent of all registrations.
The Ford Fiesta has been the best selling model eight times in the last nine months. While scrappage scheme favourite, the Hyundai i10, was in the top ten for the first time ever during July.
“The impact of the scrappage scheme is clear and we are encouraged by the positive impact it has had, increasing new car registrations for the first time since April 2008,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. “Industry still faces a long road to recovery and we urge government to take action to sustain economic recovery through easing access to finance and credit and delivering the loan guarantees set out by the Automotive Assistance Programme.”
By June, the scrappage scheme accounted for almost 10 per cent of the month’s total new car registrations of176,264 units.
“The impact of the vehicle scrappage scheme is now being felt, with thousands of cars bought by consumers via the scheme now on the road,” says Sue Robinson, Director of the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF).
According to Robinson, the scrappage scheme is having a positive effect on the whole market: “Car dealers are reporting that the scheme is continuing to provide a halo effect for overall car sales, and is helping increase footfall into showrooms by general buyers as well as scrappage buyers.”
Latest Government figures show that 144,308 cars and light vans have been bought through the scrappage scheme since it went live on 18 May 2009.
She adds: “With fleets not in the market for new vehicles at present, it is private buyers taking advantage of the scrappage scheme that are leading the revival. However, for sales to return to consistently positive levels in the medium to long term, business and general consumer confidence must be encouraged as much as possible.”
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