- The September plate-change saw 332,476 new cars registered, just 0.8% down on last year.
- Quarter three volumes down just 0.7%, with January to September volumes down 5.0% on a year ago.
- Growth in fleet volumes supported the market while private registrations were down 9.3%.
- SMMT expects the full year new car market to end 5.3% below 2010 levels at 1.92 million units.
- Average new car CO2 emissions fell by 4.0% to 138.5g/km.
“The all-important September market outperformed expectations and is less than 1% below last year at 332,476 units,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. “We expected 2011 to be a challenging year and we are on track for a full year total of around 1.92 million new car registrations, 5% below 2010. SMMT has revised down its 2012 registrations forecast to 1.96 million units; a reflection of the continued weakness in UK domestic demand and the uncertainty across European economies. It is important government acts to sustain an investment-led recovery and implements measures to encourage more private sector investment in R&D, skills, new plants and machinery.”
| September | Total | Diesel | Petrol | AFV | Private | Fleet | Business | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | 332,476 | 160,446 | 167,223 | 4,807 | 155,135 | 156,634 | 20,707 | ||||||||||||
| 2010 | 335,246 | 151,228 | 179,842 | 4,176 | 170,959 | 146,021 | 18,266 | ||||||||||||
| % change | -0.8% | 6.1% | -7.0% | 15.1% | -9.3% | 7.3% | 13.4% | ||||||||||||
| Mkt share ’11 | 48.3% | 50.3% | 1.4% | 46.7% | 47.1% | 6.2% | |||||||||||||
| Mkt share ’10 | 45.1% | 53.6% | 1.2% | 51.0% | 43.6% | 5.4% | |||||||||||||
| Year-to-date | Total | Diesel | Petrol | AFV | Private | Fleet | Business | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | 1,553,094 | 774,312 | 758,916 | 19,866 | 668,482 | 802,928 | 81,684 | ||||||||||||
| 2010 | 1,635,659 | 727,853 | 889,595 | 18,211 | 784,050 | 771,455 | 80,154 | ||||||||||||
| % change | -5.0% | 6.4% | -14.7% | 9.1% | -14.7% | 4.1% | 1.9% | ||||||||||||
| Mkt share ’11 | 49.9% | 48.9% | 1.3% | 43.0% | 51.7% | 5.3% | |||||||||||||
| Mkt share ’10 | 44.5% | 54.4% | 1.1% | 47.9% | 47.2% | 4.9% | |||||||||||||
| Best sellers | September | Year-to-date | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Fiesta | 15,647 | 1 | Fiesta | 77,198 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Focus | 14,754 | 2 | Focus | 67,672 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Corsa | 14,339 | 3 | Corsa | 60,959 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Golf | 10,628 | 4 | Golf | 50,013 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Astra | 10,462 | 5 | Astra | 49,042 | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Polo | 8,607 | 6 | Insignia | 38,386 | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | Insignia | 7,323 | 7 | Polo | 36,655 | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | MINI | 6,903 | 8 | 3 Series | 33,650 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | 3 Series | 6,352 | 9 | Qashqai | 30,763 | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | Qashqai | 6,068 | 10 | MINI | 28,097 | ||||||||||||||
September on par with expectations as new car market remains stable
- There were 332,476 new 61-plate cars registered in September this year, 0.8% less than a year ago and in line with expectations for the month. September is the second largest single month for new car registrations, just behind March’s 366,101 units and should represent almost 17% of the annual market.
- New car demand over the first three quarters of the year was down 5.0%, but dipped by just 0.7% in quarter three.
- The outlook remains uncertain, given weakening economic growth and confidence combined with the volatile, unstable global financial markets. SMMT forecasts the 2011 market to decline further in quarter four and end 2011 at 1.92 million units. The market is expected to recover in 2012, growing to 1.96 million units.
- The fleet market remained strong in September, but private demand slipped further, down 9.3% representing 46.7% of the September total, down from 51.0% in 2010.
- The average new car registered between January and September 2011 had CO2 emissions of just 138.5g/km, down 23.5% from the full year 2000 level of 181.0g/km.
- The CO2 figure has been improved by diesel cars accounting for a growing share of the total market, with 49.9% of the total market over the year-to-date, up from 44.5% a year ago and alternatively-fuelled car registrations also rising to 1.3% market share after a 9.1% rise in volumes.
- The Ford Fiesta was the best selling model in both September and the year-to-date. Despite volumes slipping in 2011, Supermini segment cars (such as the Fiesta) still account for the largest proportion of the September market, at 37.8%. Growth was focused in the Lower Medium, Executive, Luxury and Dual Purpose segments in the month.
Click through to download the full September 2011 new car registrations news release and data table.
