Car sales continue to break the wrong record.

The UK automotive sector remains on course to deliver its lowest new car registrations total since 1982.

This comes despite a 26.4% growth in October, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has said.

That uplift is down to Hybrid and battery electric vehicles (EV) rising sales.

Plugging the holes

A poor October witnessed deliveries fall by 24.6% year-on-year, with battery electric vehicles (BEV) increasing 23.4% to 19,933 and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) by 6.2% to 8,899.

SMMT October 2022 new car registrations graphic

Plug-in vehicles accounted for 21.5% of registrations last month. However, October was the first month to see BEV market share fall since May 2021 as hybrid sales rose by 81.7%. This may in part be due to the ready availability of hybrids compared to BEVs.

The car sales market remains down 5.6% year-to-date on the same period in 2021 and a third below pre-COVID levels.

Help not hinder

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, urged Government to take action to boost car sales and ease the financial burden on motorists after the Bank of England implemented a record 0.75% rise in interest rates yesterday.

“Next year’s outlook shows recovery is possible,” states Hawes. “EV growth looks set to continue but, to achieve our shared net zero goals, that growth must accelerate and consumers given every reason to invest”.

To aid sales and the environmental goals, “economic stability and confidence” is needed to help consumers to make the switch. He adds they need to feel  “safe in the knowledge they will be able to charge – and charge affordably – when needed. The models are there, with more still to come; so must the public charge points”.

He warns that a “stretched infrastructure and the cost-of-living crisis” have the potential to undermine the changing market.

“Now is not the time to raise motorists’ costs, which would likely stoke inflation and damage broader government revenues from new car sales.”

 

SMMT new car registrations breakdown, October 2022

Business boost

October’s growth was driven primarily by large fleet registrations, SMMT data revealed, which grew 47.4% to 67,911 units.

Registrations to private customers rose 7.4% to 62,714, while smaller businesses recorded a 108% increase to 3,719 units.

Ongoing supply chain shortages, surging inflation and a growing cost of living crisis have led to a -2.2% downward revision of the SMMT’s market outlook for the year, with 1.566 million registrations now anticipated – putting 2022 on course to be the market’s toughest year since 1982.