UK new car sales see weakest March since 1998

Heavy site visitors as observed on the M3 motorway heading towards the English coastline, around Southampton, Britain, August 7, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville

April 5 (Reuters) – British new automobile registrations fell 14% to record the weakest March since 1998 as semiconductor shortages ongoing to strike motor vehicle materials, although desire for battery electric vehicles touched an all-time high, field information showed on Tuesday.

Soaring inflation in Britain, designed even worse by climbing fuel costs, could also hit demand from customers for new cars and trucks, when the Russia-Ukraine conflict could further pressure automotive offer chains, the Culture of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

“Presented (that) all-around 20% of overall yearly registrations are normally recorded in March, the result is massively disappointing for the sector and underscores the prolonged-phrase effects the pandemic is wreaking on the marketplace,” the SMMT said in a assertion.

A scarcity of chips, arising from offer troubles for the duration of the pandemic and soaring demand from customers from consumer electronics, has severely hit the automobile industry, with missing essential areas hindering the production of new vehicles.

Battery electric vehicles (EVs), however, liked their very best-ever thirty day period, with registrations in March surpassing those for the whole of 2019.

The SMMT claimed 39,315 new zero-emission cars still left dealerships very last thirty day period, up 79% from a 12 months before and accounting for virtually a sixth of the motor vehicle current market.

“There was presently large expansion in this segment and, if something, the demand from customers for EVs is now even more robust as rates at the pumps increase on the again of the Ukraine disaster,” stated Ian Plummer, director at online car or truck market Auto Trader.

The slide in Uk new motor vehicle sales, to 243,479 units in March, also impacted to start with-quarter numbers, with all round registrations for the first 3 months of 2022 slipping 1.9%.

Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru Editing by Anil D’Silva and Uttaresh.V

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