UK car sales slide 9% in September

Oct 11, 2017

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Sales of new cars in the UK fell sharply in September, a move that an industry body has said will cause "considerable concern".

New car registrations last month numbered 426,170, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

The figure was down 9.3% from September last year, while diesel sales - which have been hit by worries over air quality - fell by 21.7%.

It was the first time in six years that the key September market had fallen.

September is normally a big month for car sales, because it marks a change in the licence plate series that indicates how old vehicles are.

The SMMT said economic and political uncertainty, as well as confusion over air quality plans, had led to a fall in consumer confidence.

However, it praised the trade-in and scrappage deals that many carmakers had made available to UK buyers, saying they were proving popular and should be encouraged.

"September is always a barometer of the health of the UK new car market, so this decline will cause considerable concern," said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.

"Business and political uncertainty is reducing buyer confidence, with consumers and businesses more likely to delay big-ticket purchases."

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New car sales in the UK fell have now fallen for six months in a row. The last time there was a decline in September car sales was in 2011, when it fell by a mere 0.8%.

Total car sales so far in 2017 have reached 2,066,411, representing a fall of 3.9% on the same period last year.

Source: BBC NEWS