UK car registration sales fall 8.5pc in run up to election

The number of new British car registrations fell by 8.5 percent from a year earlier.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), buyers are more cautious in the run up to Theresa May’s snap election. The decline is also due to the effect of the tax hike in April tax, which boosted demand earlier in the year.

There has been a 5.3 percent in business registrations and 14 percent fall from general consumers, with car sales dropping to 186,265 vehicles in May.

“Although demand has fallen, it’s important to remember that the market remains at a very high level and with a rate of new models packed with the latest low-emission and connected technology coming to market this summer, we expect the market to remain strong over the year,” said Mike Hawes, the chief executive of Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

“We expected demand in the new car market to remain negative in May due to the pull-forward to March,”

“Added to this, the general election was always likely to give many pause for thought and affect purchasing patterns in the short term,” he added.

The number of petrol cars sold in May slightly increased from the same month last year, to 96,518. 81,489 diesel cars were sold, which was 20 percent fewer than a year earlier as tax hikes in London and possible changes across the UK continued to lower the demand. Alternatively fuelled vehicles went up by an astonishing 46.7 percent to 8,258.

Alternatively fuelled vehicles went up by an astonishing 46.7 percent to 8,258.

Last month also saw a decline in car sales spreading across the whole of Europe. Car sales across the European Union fell 6.6 percent in April, marking the first year-on-year decline in five years. This was led by a 19.8 percent decline in the UK.