Wales' new car sales crash most heavily in July

July new car sales in Wales fell more steeply than other parts of Britain, according to figures from the SMMT.

Wales saw 4,623 new cars registered last month, a drop of over 18.8pc from the 5,692 in July 2009 when the scrappage scheme was getting into gear. The incentive ended this spring and the last of the models were delivered in June.
New car sales fell in July, the first drop in a year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has said. New car registrations remain up 163,004 units, or 15.1%, over the first seven months of 2010. However, the market in July fell by 13.2% or 20,703 units, reflecting in part the aftermath of the scrappage scheme, which had contributed to robust volumes over the previous 12 months.
Alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFV) and diesel-fuelled cars both achieved record market shares in July, with AFV volumes rising by 52.6% to take a 1.4% market share and diesel volumes up 11.8% to take a market share of 50.6%. Petrol car registrations, which had benefitted most from the scrappage scheme, were down sharply.
New car registrations were 136,446 last month, down 13.2% from a year ago, the trade body said, with the end of the car scrappage scheme and the fragility in the economy blamed.
However, so far this year, new car sales remain 15% higher on the same period last year.
The SMMT said it expected more than two million new cars to be sold in 2010.
Paul Everitt, the SMMT's chief executive, said July's fall was not a surprise.
"A drop in private registrations compared to the scrappage-fuelled months of 2009 was expected," he said.
"Subdued consumer confidence and a still-fragile economic recovery make the outlook for the remainder of 2010 challenging, but a stronger-than-expected first half means full year volumes are still forecast to exceed 2009's total."
Europe's biggest car market, Germany, experienced one of the biggest falls. It sold 100,000 fewer cars last month, a drop of 30.1%.
Only Greece saw a bigger percentage drop - down 62.5% - but its car industry is much smaller.
Amongst the other big producers, Italy experienced a drop of 26.4%, while France saw a fall of 12.9%.

UK top ten in July		Wales top ten in July
1 Fiesta	6,695	Fiesta	300
2 Astra	4,919	Corsa	193
3 Corsa	4,714	Focus	192
4 Focus	4,208	Astra	164
5 Qashqai	4,136	Qashqai	160
6 Golf	4,082	Zafira	140
7 3 Series	3,817	Golf	110
8 Insignia	2,941	Ka	104
9 Polo	2,897	C 3	97
10 Zafira	2,875	Scenic	96