UK car sales jump in December, as truck sales plummet
ERJ staff report (DS)
London -- Car sales in the UK ended 2009 just 6.4 percent down on the previous year, thanks in part to a very strong finish to the year. Commercial vehicle sales were down by over a third.
Figures released by te SMMT showed that CV sales were down by around 36 percent in 2009 over 2008. Heavy truck sales stood at 34 746 units, down by 39.5 percent for the year, while December sales were down by 46.9 percent, at 2094 units.
Van sales fared slightly better, at 221 132 units for the 12 months, down by 36.2 percent on the previous year. Sales in December were 16 131 units, down by 20.6 percent on the figure for December 2008
New car sales finished the year just below 2 million units, down by 6.4 percent on the year, but sales in December reached 150,936 units, up by 38.9 perceont on the same period a year ago.
“The December new car market was boosted by the Scrappage Incentive Scheme and consumers looking to avoid January's VAT increase,†said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. “The 2009 market of 1,994,999 new car registrations was significantly above early expectations and reflects the positive impact of the scheme, due to end in February.
This is an external link and should open in a new window. If the window does not appear, please check your pop-up blocking software. ERJ is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Press release (trucks) from SMMT
Press release (cars) from SMMT
This article is only available to subscribers - subscribe today
Subscribe for unlimited access. A subscription to European Rubber Journal includes:
- Every issue of European Rubber Journal (6 issues) including Special Reports & Maps.
- Unlimited access to ERJ articles online
- Daily email newsletter – the latest news direct to your inbox
- Access to the ERJ online archive