Plug-in sales boosts market as new car purchases decline
News
6 Nov 2015
Official figures show a 1.1 per cent decrease in new car sales in October 2015, while alternatively fuelled vehicles continue to occupy a steady increase in growth.
However, despite the drop in numbers, the market still shows a 6.4 per cent increase in the year to date with over 2.23 million new cars registered during 2015.
Alternatively fuelled vehicle (AVF) sales, including the plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles, witnessed a 13.8 per cent increase last month compared to sales in October 2014. Overall, 5,362 AFVs were sold demonstrating that unlike the market for conventional vehicles, the trade for new AFVs experienced a growth, with petrol sales down by 0.9 per cent and diesels down by 2.1 per cent.
Data found that sales of models eligible for the government’s plug-in car grant (PiCG) had increased by seven per cent compared to the previous year. In total, there was 22,820 sales for 2015, showing a growth of 117.2 per cent against sales in 2014.
The Volkswagen (VW) emissions scandal also appears to have had a significant impact on UK sales, with diesel purchases declining since the new first broke.
Figures exhibiting the growth of the diesel market show that the initial 7.6 per cent increase in August 2015 sales decreased to 4.1 per cent in September, compared to 2014.
In addition figures show that VW car brands that were caught up in the scandal have seen a reduction in sales with VW down 9.84 per cent; Skoda down 3.03 per cent and Seat down 32.23 per cent. However, Audi defied the VW Group sales pattern, with sales increasing by 2.24 per cent, arguably due to the release of the new high-volume A4 model.
Data also suggests bad news other manufacturers such as Vauxhall which was down by over 16 per cent, Nissan down by 13 per cent, Mini down by almost 22 per cent and Ford down by over eight per cent. Further analysis showed that premium brands tended to perform well, while budget names fell behind. Premium names such as BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover all saw increases in excess of 30, 70 and 40 per cent respectively, while Dacia experienced a 31 per cent drop in sales and Citroen a decline of 18 per cent.
