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Diesels overtook petrol car sales for first time in Britain last year
publication date: Jan 6, 2012
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author/source: Robin Roberts
New car sales dipped by at least 4.4pc last year.
That is officially slightly better than the SMMT predicted but the true
figure is really below the published total as dealers were responsible for pre registering
cars to boost their own returns. Analysis out on thursday said more pre-registrations had taken place in
December than for many years as the figures were seen to be well short of
expectations. The SMMT said the market was held back by private sales, down 14.1
per cent while fleet sales rose 4.7 per cent. All Sales in
December fell by 3.7 per cent, the 10th monthly decline in the year. "2011 proved to be a challenging year for the UK motor industry. Total new
car registrations were slightly ahead of expectations at 1.94 million
units, still down 4.4 per cent on 2010," said SMMT chief executive Paul
Everitt. "Business and consumer confidence will be the key to a successful
year, so it will be important that government delivers on its growth strategy
and helps to resolve instability in the Euro Zone." |  | New car registrations in Wales fell by almost 10pc last year, over twice the
UK average and the most of any part in mainland UK.
Only a 11.7pc fall in Northern Ireland was worse as the national average was
under 4.4pc. December was particularly bad for Welsh motor dealers who saw
sales crash 12.61pc.
The Ford Fiesta was the best selling new car in 2011, with the VW Golf the
best selling diesel model. The Supermini segment remains the largest in the UK, with a market share almost
unchanged on 2010 at 36.3 per cent. The Executive, Luxury Saloon and Dual
Purpose segments all recorded growth in registrations in 2011.
David
Raistrick, UK Manufacturing leader at Deloitte, the business advisory firm, said
of the registration figures that the slight dip in December's new car
registration figures, and the total for 2011 (4.4% down on 2010) is broadly as
expected, reinforcing our forecast that 2012 is likely to be a difficult year
for the automotive sector.
"Despite putting on a brave face, the market is
far from settled and various economic and environmental factors could severely
impact organisations operating in this sector.
"We've been working closely with the RMI
National Franchised Dealers Association on a number of areas to understand and
anticipate market movement and we believe total new car registrations for 2012
will be relatively low - around the 1.84m mark.
"There is no doubt that 2012 is going to be a
tough year. I expect there will be a levelling off for sales in new and used
car sales, both in the UK and more widely across Europe. Notwithstanding this,
the low volume of new car sales over the last few years should ensure residual
values remain firm despite tough trading conditions."
He added, "During 2011 the market saw a
decrease in retail sales, which was balanced by an increase in fleet sales. For
the coming year, I see retail sales being down slightly, but with fleet sales
remaining broadly static at 2011 levels.
"The position across Europe is diverse,
with many countries predicting a drop due to local economic uncertainty.
Germany in particular stands out from the pack with strong forecasts for new
car sales in 2012, which builds on an already strong new car registration base
in 2011.
"A number of manufacturers continue to do
well with Nissan this week reporting record figures for their production plant
in Sunderland; Ford reporting one of their strongest years in North America and
other manufacturers recording similar successes.
"At the same time, the latest PMI figures
report a further decline in December. Whilst this decline was less than
expected, due to new orders from Germany, China and eastern Europe, there is
progressing uncertainty about the eurozone and how the outcome will impact UK
production, export and import markets. The vital aspect here is the state of
the long term order books for UK manufacturers and whether demand will continue
to exceed delivery.
"It's encouraging to see some sectors within
manufacturing still growing strongly, but there continues to be risk, and
survival will depend on how manufacturers and retailers expect, plan for and
manage this risk."
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UK car
sales
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| | | | | | December 2011
| | 2011 Best sellers
| Wales top sellers 2011 | Ford Fiesta
| 5411
| | Ford Fiesta
| 96112 | | Ford Fiesta
| 5709 | Vaux Corsa
| 5258 | | Ford Focus
| 81832 | | Ford Focus
| 3455 | Vaux Astra
| 4856 | | Vaux Corsa
| 77751 | | Vaux Corsa
| 2483 | Ford Focus
| 4047 | | VW Golf
| 63368 | | Vaux Astra
| 1961 | VW Golf
| 4031 | | Vaux Astra
| 62575 | | VW Polo
| 1800 | VW Polo
| 2742 | | Vaux Insignia
| 46324 | | Niss Qashqai
| 1574 | Mini
| 2706 | | VW Polo
| 45992 | | VW Golf
| 1484 | Nissan Qashqai
| 2580 | | BMW 3 Series
| 42471 | | Citroen C3
| 1341 | Vaux Insignia
| 2494 | | Nissan Qashqai
| 39406 | | Ford C Max
| 1194 | Hyundai i10
| 2411 | | Mini
| 35845 | | Ford Ka
| 1139 |
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