Volumes decline but fleets are stable

摘要

The UK's new car sales volumes declined 2.9% in February to 79,5%, which leaves the UK's new car market down 5.8% year-to-date at 228,873. Private registrations declined 7.4% last month as 2,741 fewer people took delivery of new cars. Fleet demand, however, remained stable, up by 31 registrations, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Demand for both diesel and petrol cars fell, with registrations down 27.1% and 7.3% respectively, as diesel's market share declined to 21.9%. Hybrids recorded an uplift of 71.9% to 4,154 units, while registrations of EV and PHEV models continued to enjoy growth, with battery electric vehicles (BEVsl rising more than three-fold to 2,508 units and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) up 49.9% to 2,058. The SMMT called on the Government to remove VAT from electric vehicles to boost sales.