The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has said that car sales rose in August for the first time in 14 months. The month saw 59,346 new cars registered, which is a rise of 7.3% year-on-year. An increase of a third was seen in sales of small cars.
Because of the launch of new registration plates in September, August is traditionally one of the quietest months for car sales - which makes the news doubly notable. But despite the good news for August, the SMMT was still cautious about suggesting the outlook was improving. Far more important for the UK car retail industry, says the SMMT, are the sales in September, when the new 61-plate registrations can be obtained. September accounts for 17% of new car registrations.
The big increase was seen in sales of smaller cars, which were up a third (3,213 sales in August) while sales of so-called ‘supermini’ cars increased by 18%.
Sales figures also shed light on how well electric cars were doing. 34 electric cars were sold in August, compared to 11 the previous year. The government’s £5000 grant was largely thought to be the reason for the relatively big increase. In total this year, 837 electric cars have been sold.
Despite the government grant, and despite significantly lower fuel costs, people have been reluctant to purchase electric vehicles in huge numbers. It isn’t thought to be an issue of how powerful electric vehicles are – and they certainly don’t require owners to call out their vehicle recovery providers any more frequently than with a petrol car. This is thought to be because of the large initial outlay and the fact that over a typical 3 year, 36,000 mile lifecycle, electric cars are actually more expensive.
As with so many new technologies, as time goes on one would expect to see the price come down. But for now, challenging economic conditions means the petrol car is still the star.
Breakdown Cover from 
