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New car sales rise 10.8% in June | New car sales rise 10.8% in June |
(40 minutes later) | |
The car industry still expects a tough second half of the year | |
UK new car sales rose 10.8% in June compared with the same month last year, industry figures have shown, despite the end of the scrappage scheme. | UK new car sales rose 10.8% in June compared with the same month last year, industry figures have shown, despite the end of the scrappage scheme. |
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 195,226 new cars were sold in June, adding that the performance was "above expectations". | |
June registrations were boosted by a rise of more than 25% in fleet sales. | June registrations were boosted by a rise of more than 25% in fleet sales. |
In the six months from January to June, there were 1,208,662 new registrations, a 19.9% rise on the first half of 2009. | |
June last year was the first full month when new car buyers could take advantage of the scrappage incentive. | |
The scheme, which offered new buyers a £2,000 discount if they scrapped a car that was more than 10 years old, started on 18 May 2009 and came to an end on 31 March 2010. | |
'Unique' factors | |
SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said the figures came as a pleasant surprise. | |
"Like many, we were anticipating that this would be a difficult month because of the end of the scrappage scheme," he said. | |
Private sales in June were 3.3% lower than last year. | |
In addition to the rise seen in the fleet market, the business sector also enjoyed an 18.4% increase in sales. | |
Mr Everitt added that there were a couple of "unique" factors influencing the rise in these sectors. | |
"There is some inventory building going on. During the depths of the recession most companies cut back quite a lot on inventory so we're seeing some impact there," he said. | |
"But also, this time last year there was such a big rush in scrappage scheme vehicles and private vehicles being sold that that crowded out some of the fleet market." |