New car sales fall to lowest level since 1998 amid pingdemic
Supply issues and staff shortages have proved a speed bump for new car sales which fell by 29.5 percent in July 2021 according to an industry body.
A total of 123,296 new vehicle registrations were recorded last month by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) – the lowest figures for July since 1998.
While sales were boosted in 2020 by the reopening of showrooms car manufacturers have been hit hard by a semiconductor shortage which is deterring customers, who face long waits, from purchasing new cars.
As cases rose over Summer hundreds of thousands of people were being “pinged” by the National Health Service’s contact-tracing app to isolate adding to the industry’s woes by causing staff shortages.
Mike Hawes, the Chief Executive of SMMT, said: “the next few weeks will see changes to self-isolation policies which will hopefully help those companies across the industry dealing with staff absences, but the semiconductor shortage is likely to remain an issue until at least the rest of the year.”
SMMT is lowering its full-year forecast for new car sales to 1.82 million cars, up 11.7 per cent on 2020 but still a climbdown from earlier predictions.
Despite the lacklustre results Hawes described a marked rise in sales of electric vehicles as a “bright spot.” Sales for diesel vehicles were down almost 70 per cent in July 2021 with the market share of battery, plugin and hybrid electric vehicles approaching 23% for the year to date.
David Borland, EY’s UK & Ireland Automotive Leader commented on the results, remarking that “the move to zero emission vehicles continues apace” and urging businesses “to ensure they have strategy and plans in place for their role in the emerging energy ecosystem.”
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