According to a report released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited (SMMT), the number of new car registrations decreased by 9% per annum in July, to 112,162 units. This was the fifth decline in a row, but the rate of decline was the weakest since the beginning of 2022.
Car production has suffered due to global supply chain problems, mainly a shortage of semiconductors, blockages due to Covid in key manufacturing and logistics centers in China, as well as disruptions amid the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
The SMMT reported that the number of registrations of cars by large fleets fell by 18.2% per annum, to 50,014 units, while the number of registrations of cars by private individuals remained at 59,847 units. Since the beginning of this year (through July), the number of car registrations by private individuals has increased by 3.7% compared to the same period in 2021.
Battery electric vehicle (BEV) uptake grew 9.9% to 12,243 units to achieve a 10.9% market share for the month. Although this is the weakest monthly uplift recorded by BEVs since the pandemic, overall growth in the year has reached 49.9% to deliver a 13.9% market share, illustrating the volatility in the supply chain. July was a weaker month for hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) uptake, with registrations falling -6.7% to take 12.2% of the market. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) fell -34.0% which cut their market share to 5.8%.
"Despite expectations of an improvement in the situation in the automotive sector in the second half of the year, it is unlikely that the market will be able to recover the significant losses incurred so far. Thus, the forecast for new car sales for the whole of 2022 was revised downward to 1.6 million (-2.8% per annum). Meanwhile, the forecast for 2023 has been revised to 1.89 million from 2.02 million," the SMMT said.