Statistics reveal that UK new car sales in May were down 8.5 per cent compared to the same month last year, with the sale of diesel cars dropping dramatically by 20 per cent.
According to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), 81,489 new cars were registered in the month of May 2017, which is considerably down compared to May last year when over 101,000 new cars were registered.
While petrol car sales are actually slightly up (by 0.4 per cent) when comparing these two months, the drop in diesel car sales is eye-catching.
Sales of alternative fuelled vehicles (AFVs) – which include hybrids and electric cars – are up by 46.7 per cent meanwhile. 8,258 registrations of such vehicles were made in May 2017, representing a 4.4 per cent share of the total market. This is the largest monthly market share alternative fuelled vehicles have ever taken to date.
When taking into account all months of the year which have passed so far, total new car registrations are down by 0.6 per cent compared to this point of time last year. 6,500 fewer cars have been registered and the diesel and private segments are overall down by 8.8 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively.
The SMMT chief executive, Mike Hawes, believes the upcoming General Election explains the drop in new car sales in May. He said: “The general election was always likely to give many pause for thought and affect purchasing patterns in the short term.
“Although demand has fallen, it’s important to remember that the market remains at a very high level and, with a raft of new models packed with the latest low-emissions and connected technology coming to market this summer, we expect the market to remain strong over the year.”
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