Rise in new car sales for July
It has recently been reported that the sale of new cars has increased for the 29th consecutive month, with the Ford Fiesta topping the charts as the best-selling car for the month of July. The number of new cars registered in July 2014 reached 172,907, a 6.6% rise on July 2013 according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Between January and July there have been a total of 1,460,173 new cars sold and the SMMT forecasts sales of new cars to increase by 8.1% to 2.45M by the end of the year. This means that sales of new cars are on track for their best year for a decade. This now marks the 29th consecutive month that the UK new car market has grown. The increase is mainly thought to be due to cheaper finance deals and a better than predicted economy.
Over half of the new registrations went to business fleets and private buyers accounted for 76.738 of the units purchased and new businesses registered almost 8,000 new cars. The Ford Fiesta retains its spot at the top of the best-selling table and widens its lead against second place Vauxhall. The Mini and the BMW 3 Series also made their way into the top ten best-selling cars.
Rise in Car Sales
Better economic circumstances and lower unemployment attributed to rise in new car sales.
The better economic circumstances, rising consumer confidence and lower unemployment mean that consumers have more disposable income and are able to afford a car. Consumer finance has also increased by 15% in the first six months of the year, with the number of cars financed by the Finance & Leasing Association stood at 75.2% for the month of June 2014. It has also been argued that the possibility of the driverless car gracing Britain’s roads as early as 2015 has caused the surge in car sales along with increased safety technology and more cars installed with self-parking technology.
How do you think the increase in new car sales will affect the used car market and motor trade for the rest of the year?