- UK new car registrations rose 11.3% to 149,191 units in November, on the back of increased private demand.
- The UK new car market has grown 5.4% to 1,921,052 units during the January-November period.
- This positive performance over the year-to-date puts the full year market on track to be the best since 2008.
- The UK is now the second largest new car market in Europe, following growth in the UK over the last 10 months and a drop in demand in the other big markets.
“New car registrations rose 11.3% in November, positioning the UK new car market as the second largest in Europe,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. “The upward trend has been driven by private retail customers. The outlook for 2013 remains challenging, but vehicle manufacturers and their dealers will continue to work hard to attract motorists to their showrooms and deliver outstanding value.”
Click through to download the full November 2012 new car registrations news release and data tables.
November 2012 new car registrations data
| November | Total | Diesel | Petrol | AFV | Private | Fleet | Business |
| 2012 | 149,191 | 79,389 | 67,875 | 1,927 | 65,327 | 77,331 | 6,533 |
| 2011 | 134,027 | 74,539 | 57,342 | 2,146 | 54,261 | 74,637 | 5,129 |
| % change | 11.3% | 6.5% | 18.4% | -10.2% | 20.4% | 3.6% | 27.4% |
| Mkt share ’12 | 53.2% | 45.5% | 1.3% | 43.8% | 51.8% | 4.4% | |
| Mkt share ’11 | 55.6% | 42.8% | 1.6% | 40.5% | 55.7% | 3.8% | |
| Year-to-date | Total | Diesel | Petrol | AFV | Private | Fleet | Business |
| 2012 | 1,921,052 | 975,332 | 919,527 | 26,193 | 878,460 | 958,517 | 84,075 |
| 2011 | 1,822,065 | 921,024 | 877,440 | 23,601 | 777,794 | 951,965 | 92,306 |
| % change | 5.4% | 5.9% | 4.8% | 11.0% | 12.9% | 0.7% | -8.9% |
| Mkt share ’12 | 50.8% | 47.9% | 1.4% | 45.7% | 49.9% | 4.4% | |
| Mkt share ’11 | 50.5% | 48.2% | 1.3% | 42.7% | 52.2% | 5.1% |
November 2012 and YTD best sellers
| Best sellers | November | Year-to-date | |||||||||||
| 1 | Focus | 7,495 | 1 | Fiesta | 104,288 | ||||||||
| 2 | Fiesta | 7,483 | 2 | Corsa | 84,924 | ||||||||
| 3 | Corsa | 6,164 | 3 | Focus | 77,850 | ||||||||
| 4 | Golf | 5,165 | 4 | Golf | 59,465 | ||||||||
| 5 | Astra | 5,032 | 5 | Astra | 57,911 | ||||||||
| 6 | Qashqai | 3,403 | 6 | Qashqai | 42,835 | ||||||||
| 7 | 3 Series | 3,238 | 7 | 3 Series | 41,340 | ||||||||
| 8 | 1 Series | 3,135 | 8 | Polo | 39,401 | ||||||||
| 9 | C-Class | 2,901 | 9 | C-Class | 35,328 | ||||||||
| 10 | MINI | 2,787 | 10 | 1 Series | 31,292 | ||||||||
New car market continues to grow and betters expectations on the back of private demand
- The UK has become the second largest new car market in the EU, positioned ahead of France and after Germany.
- The UK new car market has grown in every month since March and the 11.3% rise in November ensured the second successive month of double digit growth.
- Over the year-to-date the market has risen by 5.4% to 1,921,052 units, bettering industry expectations. This puts the UK on track to post the best annual volume since 2008’s 2.13 million units. Volumes remain some 15% or more below the pre-recession annual markets of 2.4 million units and above.
- The growth is likely to be market specific, boosted by attractive offers and new, innovative models offering significant fuel efficiency and cost savings.
- Registrations by private buyers increased by more than a fifth in November and by 12.9% over the year-to-date.
- Registrations of alternatively-fuelled cars, small cars (Mini and Supermini) and Dual Purpose segment cars have also shown above average growth during the January to November period.
- The Ford Focus was the best-selling new car in November, but the Ford Fiesta has held the top position over the year-to-date.
- SMMT’s full year forecast of 2.013 million units, as fixed in October, looks set to be bettered. At that time the 2013 market was expected to show little net change, at 2.015 million units. SMMT will review its forecast in January, after publication of full year data.
Click through to download the full November 2012 new car registrations news release and data tables.
