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UK car sales suffer sharp decline | UK car sales suffer sharp decline |
(40 minutes later) | |
New car sales fell sharply in August for the second consecutive month, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders have shown. | New car sales fell sharply in August for the second consecutive month, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders have shown. |
August saw 55,305 new cars registered - down 17.5% compared with August 2009, the SMMT said. | August saw 55,305 new cars registered - down 17.5% compared with August 2009, the SMMT said. |
The industry body warned that the market would remain tough for the rest of the year. | The industry body warned that the market would remain tough for the rest of the year. |
However it reiterated that it expected more than two million new cars to be sold in 2010. | However it reiterated that it expected more than two million new cars to be sold in 2010. |
That would be a 1.2% increase on 2009. | That would be a 1.2% increase on 2009. |
Scrappage impact | |
August's figures compared with about 98,000 sales in July - although August traditionally sees the lowest volume of monthly sales ahead of September's launch of the new registration plate. | |
Over the first seven months of 2010 the market remains 13.2% above the same period in 2009, with more than 1.3m new cars sold. | |
The end of the car scrappage scheme and the fragility in the economy meant the decline was widely expected - although the demand from firms for fleet vehicles is holding up, the SMMT said. | |
"The industry enjoyed a better-than-expected first half of the year and, despite the difficulties, SMMT is forecasting that new car registrations will close just ahead of 2009 figures," said SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt. | "The industry enjoyed a better-than-expected first half of the year and, despite the difficulties, SMMT is forecasting that new car registrations will close just ahead of 2009 figures," said SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt. |
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