· New car registrations fell 13.2% in July, following 12 successive monthly rises.
· Market remains up 15.1% over the first seven months of 2010 compared to 2009.
· 2010 new car market expected to total 2.018 million units, 1.2% above 2009 market, according to SMMT’s revised forecast.
· Diesel share hits record high of 50.6% in July, whilst AFVs also hit a record 1.4% share.
· Market expected to slow in second half of 2010, but remain broadly stable over full year.
“A drop in private registrations compared to the scrappage-fuelled months of 2009 was expected and has brought the first market decline for 12 months,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. “Subdued consumer confidence and a still fragile economic recovery make the outlook for the remainder of 2010 challenging, but a stronger than expected first half means full year volumes are still forecast to exceed 2009’s total.”
Market slows in July, as expected. Full year market set to better 2009 level.
· New car registrations remain up 163,004 units, or 15.1%, over the first seven months of 2010. However, the market in July fell by 13.2% or 20,703 units, reflecting in part the aftermath of the scrappage scheme, which had contributed to robust volumes over the previous 12 months.
· Alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFV) and diesel-fuelled cars both achieved record market shares in July, with AFV volumes rising by 52.6% to take a 1.4% market share and diesel volumes up 11.8% to take a market share of 50.6%. Petrol car registrations, which had benefitted most from the scrappage scheme, were down sharply.
· MPV and dual purpose (SUV) segments rose accounting for one in eight new cars registered in July, whilst supermini and mini segment volumes fell sharply.
· The Ford Fiesta was the best selling model in July, as it was over the year-to-date.
· The 2010 new car market is forecast to total 2.018 million units, 1.2% above the 2009 market. Whilst stable over the full year, volumes are expected to fall by some 15% over the remainder of 2010. The outlook is difficult to predict due to uncertainty over the state of the economy, impact of VAT changes at the start of 2011, levels of pent-up business demand and manufacturers’ ability to build on the past growth momentum.
