LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Car registrations in the UK rose for the twenty third consecutive month in June and achieved one million sales in the first half of the year for the first time since 2019, data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders, or SMMT, showed Thursday.
New car registrations grew by 1.1 percent year-over-year in June to reach 179,263 units.
During the first half of this year, car sales grew 6.0 percent annually to more than 1.0 million units. Moreover, this million-mile milestone at the half year point happened for the first time since 2019.
During June, the overall increase was primarily driven by the fleet sector, where registrations were growing by 14.2 percent, while private retail demand fell for the ninth consecutive month by 15.3 percent, the SMMT said.
Battery electric vehicle growth was 7.4 percent and marked its best monthly share this year, accounting for 19.0 percent of all new vehicle registrations. Meanwhile, the uptake in the year to date remained stable at 16.6 percent.
Sales of plug-in hybrid electric models rose sharply by 30.0 percent, and those for hybrid electric vehicles climbed by 27.2 percent.
Industry demands that the future government support customers since fewer than one in five newly manufactured battery-electric vehicles are purchased by individuals, the SMMT said.
'The year's midpoint sees the new car market in its best state since 2021 - but this belies the bigger challenge ahead,' Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said.
'The private consumer market continues to shrink against a difficult economic backdrop, but with the right policies in place, the next government can re-energise the market and deliver a faster, fairer zero emission transition.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
