New car sales in year-long decline

New car sales for June fell by 6.2% over 2010 figures, meaning registrations have been down for 12 months running.

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The rate of decline is falling, though, points out the SMMT, which is in line with forecasts that the drop in sales will moderate as 2011 progresses.

The average rate of decline for the first half of 2011 stands at 7.1%, while the quarter 2 decline was 5.2%: in the last quarter of 2010, this was far higher, at a hefty 17.3%.

Indeed, the quarter 2 market was actually higher than the SMMT predicted, by around 6,500 cars.

“June new car registrations continued to perform in line with industry expectations with robust demand in the fleet sector and a relatively weak retail market,” said SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt.

“The balance of demand makes this a tough time for vehicle manufacturers and their dealer networks.

“Slow, but steady economic growth in the second half of the year should see volumes increase, although the overall market is still expected to be around 1.93 million units.”

Diesel cars remain the big winner. Petrol car market share fell by over 14% in June 2011 – but diesel new car sales were up 4%. This means diesel has a HIGHER market share than petrol. In 2010, petrol still led by almost 9%.

The Ford Fiesta again topped the new car sales chart in June 2011, from the Ford Focus. Just behind was the Vauxhall Corsa, with the Vauxhall Insignia a long way off in fourth place.

The Vauxhall Insignia was, however, the nation’s best selling diesel car in June 2011, pushing the Volkswagen Golf into second place.

NEW CAR BEST SELLERS: JUNE 2011

1 Ford Fiesta

2 Ford Focus

3 Vauxhall Corsa

4 Vauxhall Insignia

5 Vauxhall Astra

6 Volkswagen Golf

7 MINI

8 BMW 3 Series

9 BMW 1 Series

10 Nissan Qashqai