The UK’s new car market dropped by 1.6% in January, but it wasn’t all bad news with some brands achieving promising figures.
The decline for diesel continued with registrations dropping by 20.3%, but that was offset with a jump in petrol for January of 7.3%, while alternatively fueled cars such as electric and hybrid jumped by 26.3%, taking it to a market share of 6.8%.
“It’s encouraging to see car registrations in January broadly on par with a year ago as the latest high tech models and deals attracted buyers into showrooms,” said SMMT Chief Executive, Mike Hawes. “This, however, is still the fifth consecutive month of overall decline in the market. To restore momentum, we need supportive policies, not least on vehicle taxation, to encourage buyers to invest in new, cleaner vehicles that best suit their driving needs – from the latest petrols and diesels to an ever growing range of exciting electrified vehicles. This would be good for the environment and good for the industry and those who depend on it.”
In terms of brands it was a great start for Volvo, who had a year-on-year increase of 80%, with the launch of the new XC40 contributing significantly. On the flip side, both Audi and Porsche suffered big drops of 27% and 42% respectively. Jaguar Land Rover also saw a slip, to compound a bad start to 2019, Jaguar dropped 2.4%, Land Rover just 1%.