September sales crash - good and bad news
Author: David Miles
Published: 06 October 2008
The slump in UK new car sales over the same periods last year, 21.2% down in the new registration plate change month of September and 7.5% down year to date, is terrible news for the car industry, there is no getting away from that fact. The September new car sales total was just 330,295 units, the lowest level since the twice-yearly plate change system was introduced in 1999.However for financially hard pressed UK customers there has never been a better time to buy because of high stock levels of unsold new cars.
Good news
Manufacturers have thousands of unsold cars made but not sold; dealers have loads of new and nearly new cars in their showrooms and on forecourts. Manufacturers and dealers are all offering reasons to buy - now. These can be with a heavily discounted price, cheap finance and pre-registered demonstrators. The offers also extend to the glut of used vehicles which are costing dealers huge sums of money in stocking and bank charges just by having them unsold on their forecourts for long period of time. It is a buyer’s market and the smart motorist should be taking advantage of that fact now.Many manufacturers are shortening their working week to reduce stock levels and once the current level of unsold stock has been reduced, the bargains will start to disappear.Bad news
The UK new car sales figures for September 2008 issued this week by The Society of Motoring Manufacturers and Traders show that new car registrations have fallen for the fifth consecutive month. “These represent the most difficult economic conditions the industry has faced in 17 years” said Paul Everitt, chief executive of the SMMT.In common with the housing, retail and finance industries the SMMT is calling upon the Government to take action to restore customer confidence and boost demand. The car industry, fearing redundancies in its manufacturing, importation and dealership operations want a pre-budget package of measures to boost demand for new fuel-efficient cars and scrap plans for increases in car tax.The industry fears that without increased consumer confidence a further drop of 20% in the final quarter of this year would leave full year volumes at 2,165 million units, the lowest since 1996.The private, business and fleet sectors of new car market showed a decrease in September. Private sales fell by 23.3% and have fallen every month of this year in line with the economic downturn. Business sales were down 37.1% for the month and 17% for the year. Fleet registrations fell by 16.1% in September and 3.3% year to date.In September the Vauxhall Corsa was the best selling car for a second successive month, followed by the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Astra. For the year to date the Ford Focus remains the best selling car followed by the Corsa and Astra. Diesel cars increased their share of the market again and now take 42.8% of new sales.Only the mini or city car segment of the new car market posted an increase in September sales. Larger cars saw sharper sales falls than small cars in line with the current trend for customers to down-size.Audi, Hummer Jaguar and Smart brands increased their September sales. Volume brands all showed a decrease; Ford down 23%, Vauxhall 16.5% and VW 10.9%. Premium brands also fell; BMW down by 24%, Mercedes-Benz down 9.5% and Porsche down 33%.Light commercial vehicle sales proved to be no better and were down 22.1% in September and are down 7.3% year to date. Car type pick-ups such as double-cabs showed a major fall, 57.7% in September and 45.5% for the year.
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