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UK new car sales drop 16% in June Scrappage scheme lifts car orders
(10 minutes later)
UK car sales fell by 15.7% in June compared with the same month last year, the latest industry figures have shown. The UK's car scrappage scheme has started to have a "positive impact" on the industry as new car sales fell at their slowest rate for almost a year.
The number of new cars sold in the UK during the month was 176,264 units, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). New car registrations fell by 15.7% in June compared with the same month last year, smaller than May's 25% drop.
The fall is the 14th consecutive decline in new car sales but was smaller than the 25% drop seen in May. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 176,264 units were sold during the month.
The SMMT said the UK's scrappage subsidy scheme had "clearly been having a positive impact on the market". The scrappage scheme, which offers a £2,000 incentive to scrap cars over 10 years old, came into effect on 18 May.
Half of the money will be paid by the government and half by the car industry.
"We are beginning to see the positive impact of the scrappage scheme translate into new vehicle registrations," said Paul Everitt, chief executive of the SMMT.
"SMMT expects the pace of improvement to increase in the coming months, but we can already see the industry making steady progress on the long road to recovery."
Although June was the 14th month in a row to see sales of new cars fall, it was the smallest monthly decline since July 2008.