New car market contracts in January

The fourth consecutive month of decline, it came – in part – as a result of a fall in both fleet and private buyer numbers, falling by 3.7% and 0.5%. This more than offset the 2.4% jump seen in business registrations as this is a very small portion of the market, translating to just 55 additional units.  

This, according to SMMT, can be put down to a combination of weak consumer confidence and tough economic conditions.  

Meanwhile, petrol car registrations dropped by 15.3% to comprise just over half – 50.3% – with diesel down 7.7% to claim a 6.2% share. However, both hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids recorded volume growth and saw their market shares rise to 13.2% and nine percent respectively.  

As for battery electric vehicle registrations, these continued their recent growth trends with volumes up by 41.6% year-on-year to take 21.3% market share. Despite this, the market is still short of the 22% target set by the government for last year, and even further behind the 28% requirement for 2025.  

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “January’s figures show EV demand is growing – but not fast enough to deliver on current ambitions.  

“Affordability remains a major barrier to uptake, hence the need for compelling measures to boost demand, and not just from manufacturers. The application, therefore, of the ‘Expensive Car Supplement’ to VED on electric vehicles is the wrong measure at the wrong time.

“Rather than penalising EV buyers, we should be taking every step to encourage more drivers to make the switch, helping meet government, industry and societal climate change goals.” 

The future of EVs is just one of a number of topics discussed at this year’s Credit Week, to find out more and book you’re tickets click here.