The total number of vehicles registered in June fell by 0.8 per cent compared to a year ago, with a total of 256,000 purchases being signed off over the month, according to data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) this morning. The picture was the same for the year-to-date, with registrations of bigger vans – up 12.7% – dominating the light commercial vehicle market with a 62.7% share.
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“The first six months saw strong demand at record levels but the market undoubtedly cooled over the second quarter”, Hawes says. “Maintaining economic certainty for van operators will be key to the sector’s ongoing success”. In Germany, Europe’s No. 1 market, registrations rose 8 percent, while in France volume was up 0.8 percent.
Hawes urged the government to take every measure to restore business and economic confidence to avoid the market contracting in the coming months. June 2016 was also the second best month for sales since 2000, better only by sales in June 2015.
For the month of June, it was the first fall in five years.
‘However, personal contract purchase (PCP) vehicle finance is continuing to underpin the market and should ensure the market does not sharply contract’.
The SMMT is forecasting that 2.703m new cars will be sold in 2016, up 1% on 2015. Registrations fell in October previous year, blamed partly on a drop in sales of Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) models in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal.
“However, it is very possible that there was some dampening effect on private and business auto sales by heightened uncertainty in the run-up to the referendum”.
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“Over the past few weeks, the NFDA has seen mixed messages coming from dealers and while physical footfall increased in June compared to June 2015, online activity seems to have declined”.
