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The UK’s new-car market contracted by 97 per cent in April as the coronavirus lockdown closed dealerships, falling to levels not seen since 1946.
Just 4,000 new cars changed hands last month, compared to 161,064 in April 2019. Online and distance sales made up for only a tiny percentage of normal volume, with 70 per cent of sales going to fleet buyers, and many of those 4,000 sales being made to keyworkers in need of a new car.
Continental showrooms have been cautiously reopening in recent times, with German dealers opening late last month, and French forecourts told they could restart on 11 May. The UK, being slightly behind our Continental cousins with regard to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, is likely to be similarly delayed in easing lockdown measures.
April’s registration data follows March’s steep drop, which saw 44.4 per cent fewer new cars registered as the lockdown began on the 23rd of the month. Last month the SMMT revised its annual projections, predicting 1.73 million new cars would be registered in 2020, down 23 per cent on predictions. But, in-line with its policy, April’s data prompted the organisation to further revised this outlook, predicting 1.68 million registrations cars would be sold this year. The UK automotive industry supports 820,000 jobs, and is worth £101 billion to the economy.
It’s not just new car sales that have been hit hard by coronavirus. Car factories in the UK and further abroad have been shut down to stop the spread of the disease and, while a number of firms such as Bentley have tentatively started production again, maintaining social distancing and safe working conditions provides significant headaches for manufacturers; Ford’s guide reopening its factories runs to 64 pages, for example.
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Just 4,000 new cars changed hands last month, compared to 161,064 in April 2019. Online and distance sales made up for only a tiny percentage of normal volume, with 70 per cent of sales going to fleet buyers, and many of those 4,000 sales being made to keyworkers in need of a new car.
Continental showrooms have been cautiously reopening in recent times, with German dealers opening late last month, and French forecourts told they could restart on 11 May. The UK, being slightly behind our Continental cousins with regard to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, is likely to be similarly delayed in easing lockdown measures.
April’s registration data follows March’s steep drop, which saw 44.4 per cent fewer new cars registered as the lockdown began on the 23rd of the month. Last month the SMMT revised its annual projections, predicting 1.73 million new cars would be registered in 2020, down 23 per cent on predictions. But, in-line with its policy, April’s data prompted the organisation to further revised this outlook, predicting 1.68 million registrations cars would be sold this year. The UK automotive industry supports 820,000 jobs, and is worth £101 billion to the economy.
It’s not just new car sales that have been hit hard by coronavirus. Car factories in the UK and further abroad have been shut down to stop the spread of the disease and, while a number of firms such as Bentley have tentatively started production again, maintaining social distancing and safe working conditions provides significant headaches for manufacturers; Ford’s guide reopening its factories runs to 64 pages, for example.
Click here to find out the best car leasing deals right now...
Continue reading...