NEW car sales in Britain slumped again last month – but the pace of decline is slowing, according to new figures released by industry body The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The June new car market fell 6.2 per cent to 183,125 units, compared with the same month in 2010, continuing the trend seen over the past 12 months.
But the SMMT sees encouraging signs in the fact that June’s sales drop was below the year to date figure which shows a 7.1 per cent reduction in new car sales over the first six months of 2011.
Says SMMT Chief Executive Paul Everitt:“June new car registrations continued to perform in line with industry expectations with robust demand in the fleet sector and a relatively weak retail market.”
And he forecasts: “Slow, but steady economic growth in the second half of the year should see volumes increase, although the overall market is still expected to be around 1.93 million units.”
The Ford Fiesta was the best selling model in June, just ahead of its stablemate, the Focus, with Vauxhall’s Corsa taking third place.
Registrations of diesel cars rose by four per cent in June and are up by 7.5 per cent over the first six months of 2011. Diesel sales are now comfortably outstripping those of petrol models with the VW Golf leading the way as the best selling diesel model so far this year.