UK New Car Sales Hit a 6 Year High
In a move that will no doubt please those who subscribe to the economy boosting mantra of “spending our way out of recession”, new figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show a huge rise in the registration of new cars in 2013.
In fact, the latest sales are the highest since 2007, with 2,264,737 new vehicles registered between January and December – above the number predicted by the SMMT for 2013 – which works out at roughly 60 more per day than the previous year.
The increase hasn’t come out of the blue, as there has been a steady increase in car sales in recent years, with the December just passed seeing the 22nd consecutive monthly increase to help cement the UK’s position as the second largest car buying population in Europe behind Germany.
Environmentally minded people will be pleased to hear that those new cars utilising alternative fuels, such as hybrid vehicles that use both electric and petrol-fuelled engines, are also on the rise in terms of sales. The time between 2012 and 2013’s figures saw a 17.6% increase of alternatively fuelled vehicle sales, working out at 5,477 more models, and this rise can be attributed to the mainstream acceptance of these cars and the practical improvements to their performance abilities.
The UK sales boom has been slightly out of step with the rest of Europe, who are only now beginning to catch up, and some have cited its positive affect on the economy as evidence of the need to have confidence in spending our money. The recession brought with it a range of finance options for first time car buyers – as it did in the housing market – encouraging those looking for a new vehicle to purchase brand new models instead of used ones. Similarly (see table below), recent advances in car technology have tempted people into investing. While this has led to the 10.8% sales bump seen in 2013, predictions are that numbers will stabilise as people fall back into a more orthodox car buying cycle over the next few years.
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