New car registrations up 9.3 per cent in July

Posted in 'Personal Finance' by Barry Stamp

07 August 2012

This is the fifth consecutive monthly gain in a row and the highest number of car registrations this year.

SMMT’s Chief Executive, Paul Everitt, says, “ SMMT’s full year forecast is for 1.97 million cars to be registered during 2012 suggesting a slight slowing of demand in the second half of the year.”

“International economic stability remains a concern for vehicle manufacturers and the UK market, but intense competition and new fuel efficient products are creating great opportunities for motorists.”

Diesel cars numbered 72,501 compared to 69,304 petrol models, with 2,079 ‘Alteratively-Fuelled Vehicles’ making up the numbers. AFVs are up 45.9% on the same month last year.

Small cars dominated the table as usual, with the Ford Fiesta being the best seller at 7,533 vehicles, followed by the Vauxhall Corsa at 5,809 and the Vauxhall Astra at 5,211. In order, the next 7 in the 10 most popular vehicles were the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, Nissan Qasqai, Mercedes C-class, Volkswagen Polo, Audi A3 and the Vauxhall Insignia.

The availability of traditional car loans remains sparse in current market conditions, but leasing schemes provided by car manufacturers have stepped in to fill the void.

Barry Stamp is a co-founder of Checkmyfile and is a Chartered Banker and a Fellow of the Institute of Credit Management. He can be contacted at barry.stamp@checkmyfile.com.