UK new car registrations set to rise for the first time in 2020

Reports suggest registrations were up 11% year-on-year in July, after four months of declines

New figures due today from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) are expected to show an 11% year-on-year rise in new car registrations in July following a four-month downward trend.

The uptick will be the first time registrations have climbed since December last year, and comes in the wake of the pandemic-induced shutdown which saw car sales effectively cease. 

More precise figures are imminent, but roughly 175,000 new cars are reported to have been registered last month, 30,000 more than in June and 171,000 more than in April, when lockdown prevented factories and dealerships from opening. Sales figures for 2020 are expected to clearly show the impact of the pandemic, with registrations down roughly 30% overall. 

Showrooms were given the green light to reopen in June, allowing them to start shifting stock for the first time in more than two months. Before that, only limited trade was possible on a click-and-collect basis. 

Though the latest figures suggest the industry is beginning to recover from the pandemic, it remains unclear what proportion of the registrations can be attributed to 'pent-up' demand, the effects of which will only be temporary. 

Rachael Prasher, managing director of Autocar's sister title What Car?, told the BBC: "This is very welcome news to the UK's automotive sector and a testament to all the hard work put in to kickstart the industry by dealers and manufacturers as lockdown eased.

"After nearly three months of closed doors, it is great that the industry has demonstrated its remains so robust. However, with this month's success driven largely as a result of pent-up demand and lease cycles there is still much hard work to do ahead."

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes has warned recently of mass job losses across the UK automotive industry in the wake of the pandemic. “We know of at least 11,000 jobs that have gone across manufacturing and retail, but I fear that is the tip of the iceberg", he said at last week's inaugural Business Live event.

“We’ve lost 300,000 units this year from car production – that’s £8 billion worth of value – and factories will struggle to make them up. Shift patterns have been affected. You can’t do overtime. The ability to maintain production levels during social distancing is difficult.

“We’re predicting production volumes of around 880,000 this year – pitifully low, lower than the financial crisis a decade ago”.

Wide-reaching job cuts have already been announced at Bentley, McLaren, Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover.


*Read more*

*UK car dealerships predict strong demand in wake of lockdown​*

*Analysis: Are car sales bouncing back?*

*SMMT boss: 11,000 UK automotive job losses “the tip of the iceberg​"*