Now, the good news…
The latest used car sales figures from the SMMT, published in November 2019, showed a modest increase in sales of nearly 1% in the third quarter of 2019 compared with the previous year.
There’s more positive news elsewhere in the industry, too:
- Van registrations up 2.4% in 2019—It’s not all about cars. Van sales were on the rise again by the end of 2019. Vans of all shapes and sizes were popular, too, from small commercial vehicles to larger 7.5T vans and rigid vehicles all seeing a rise in sales.
- Fleet sales are up year-on-year—While private and business car sales appear to be in decline, fleet sales are still rising, up over 7% comparing Dec 2018 to Dec 2019 and nearly 1% year-on-year.
- Electric and alternatively-fuelled vehicle sales pick up pace—Make no mistake, electric vehicle and alternatively fuelled vehicles are seen as crucial for a sustainable future. Adding together sales of battery electric vehicles and all types of hybrid vehicles, registrations are up over 48% year-on-year.
- Petrol cars still going strong—They’re still the biggest sellers by a mile. Petrol cars accounted for nearly 1.5 million registrations in 2019, with a market share of almost 65%. It will be some time yet before petrol-powered cars disappear from our roads. Sales of petrol-powered cars rose 2.2% in 2019.
- Some exciting new cars are on the way—From the new Tesla Model Y to the new Vauxhall Corsa, there are lots of great new cars on the way in 2020 that could help to lift sales.
