New Car Market Declines 0.3% in November but EV Sales Continue to Rise

New Car Market Declines 0.3% in November but EV Sales Continue to Rise

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According to SMMT, the headlines are:

  • UK new car market down -3.0% in November to 158,639 units, this could reflect uncertainty in the market
  • Diesel demand continues to fall, with ongoing growth for petrol and alternatively fuelled vehicles
  • More than 132,000 new alternatively fuelled cars have been registered year-to-date

The sales figures for new electric and hybrid cars are again impressive for November 2018, with sales continuing to increase month on month.  Its very positive that sales are still going up month on month in a generally declining market.

AFV’s had a market share of 6.8% in November 2018, up from last year’s figure of 5.3% according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).  So far in 2018 there have been 132,375 new AFV registrations, again over 20,000 up on the equivalent period last year, a 24.6% increase.

SMMT Chief Executive, Mike Hawes said, “Model and regulatory changes combined with falling consumer confidence conspired to affect supply and demand in November. The good news is that, as supply constraints ease, and new exciting models come on sale in the months ahead, buyers can look forward to a wide choice of cutting-edge petrol, diesel and electrified cars. It’s now critical that a Brexit deal is secured to boost consumer confidence and provide a stimulus to the new car market as we enter the New Year.”

In October, the Government confirmed that it was withdrawing the Plug-in Grant scheme for hybrids (PHEVs) and lowering the grant available for new pure electric cars.  It is likely that this has led to a slight increase in PHEV sales, despite this happening a month ago.

Positives

Again, similar to October, when the news of the scheme coming to an end was in the public eye, it’s good news for the industry that EV sales are on the rise and this is anticipated to increase further in 2019.

The release of this news comes at a perfect time with the recent revealing of the increased importance of climate change and reducing our carbon footprint.

Tesla have confirmed details of the release of their Model 3 and its great that manufacturers such as Tesla are making more affordable cars in order to help increase the AFV market.

Concerns

With the end of the tariff being announced last month, we are still in reflective mode.  It is a concern that the Government is seeming less keen to support the market. We hope due to the growing concern around climate change and the Government’s original direction in its Road to Zero Strategy that we will see a change in direction in 2019.