UK’s car sales dropped in August as new car registrations slide by 5.8pc in August to 87,226 units from the prior August, according to Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) data. August is also traditionally the quietest month of the year, states the report.
Private vehicle sales in August 2020 declined by 1.7pc to 39,833 units from 40,532 units last August, while fleet vehicle sales stood at 45,943 units, down by 5.5pc from August 2019. Business vehicle sales dropped significantly by 57.9pc to 1,450 units.
In the Jan-Aug period, new car sales stood at 915,615 units, down by 39.7pc from the prior year period.
in August, UK’s light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales declined by 16.1pc to 19,407 units from the prior August. Pickup van sales fell by 2.4pc, while 4×4 sales and rigid sales dropped by 3.1pc and 11.8pc, respectively. LCV sales declined by 36.4pc to 155,984 units in Jan-Aug period from 245,400 units in the prior year period.
| UK’s car and LCV sales (Year To Date) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicles | YTD-2020 | YTD-2019 | % change |
| New car registration (units) | |||
| Private | 434,355 | 674,884 | -35.64% |
| Fleet | 463,444 | 807,481 | -42.61% |
| Business | 17,816 | 36,651 | -51.39% |
| New LCVs registrations (units) | |||
| Pickup | 20,227 | 33,758 | -40.08% |
| 4×4 | 869 | 990 | -12.22% |
| Rigid | 3,586 | 4,833 | -25.80% |
SMMT chief executive said that September is likely to provide a better barometer in terms of sales as the nation is returning to normalcy and protecting consumer confidence will be critical in driving the recovery.