One million new cars sold in first half of year - but private sales fall

For the first time since the pandemic a million cars were sold in the first half of a year, according to industry data.

But the numbers are still well below the 2019 pre-pandemic year sales and demand from individual private buyers has collapsed amid a cost of living crisis, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show.

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In the first six months of 2024 – 1,006,763 new cars have been registered. While the sum is 6% higher than the previous year it’s still down 20.7% on 2019 registrations.

The overall new car market grew by 1.1% year-on-year.

Corporate dominance

Growth only came in June because of companies buying cars for their business. Fleet purchases rose 14.2% while non-corporate retail demand continued to fall – for the ninth month in a row.

Retail sales accounted for just four in 10 new registrations last month.

The SMMT said 67,625 new cars were registered by private consumers in June – down 15.3% from 79,798 during the same month last year.

“The private consumer market continues to shrink against a difficult economic backdrop, but with the right policies in place, the next government can re-energise the market and deliver a faster, fairer zero-emission transition,” SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said.

Electric vehicles

UK carmakers are legally mandated to have electric vehicles (EV) make up 22% of sales by this year.

Uptake of electric cars – as opposed to hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles – has remained at 16% in 2024 so far, suggesting the legal obligation will be missed and carmakers could face financial penalties.

Thursday’s figures also demonstrate the reliance on electric fleet vehicles in reaching EV sales targets, with the industry body saying the ability for manufacturers to meet the 22% target relies on those fleet purchases.

Take up of hybrid vehicles, rather than fully battery-powered cars, has been strong and they make up a combined 36.5% of new registrations.

“All parties are agreed on the need to cut carbon and replacing older fossil fuel-based technologies with new electrified powertrains is the essential step to achieving that goal,” Mr Hawes said.

This article was originally published by Sky.com. Read the original article here.