SMMT revises new car totals 07 | 11 | 2013
FOLLOWING A 4% INCREASE in October new car registrations, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has increased its new car forecast from 2.22 million to 2.25 million units for 2013.
New car registrations increased to 157,314 units in October and registrations year-to-date are up by 10.2% to a year-to-date total of 1,952,238.
“With October new car registrations up we have now seen 20 consecutive months of growth," Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said.
“These sustained rises have been driven by robust private demand, a trend that has given us the confidence to raise our year-end forecast to 10% ahead of last year.
“Looking ahead, we anticipate more moderate growth as the market stabilises.”
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The latest figures highlight a change in buying habits by UK car owners. So far this year there has been a marked downturn in the traditional family cars market — particularly the upper medium segment, which is down 9.6% ytd — towards smaller vehicles (eg Ford Fiesta), MPV (eg Vauxhall Zafira) and dual-purpose (eg Kia Sportage), all of which increased 4.2%, 2.2% and 4.7% respectively.
The trend for downsizing has been driven by a great emphasis on fuel efficiency, emissions and running costs, coupled with the greater refinement, performance and specification of smaller cars.
The supermini segment remains largest by volume, while dual purpose has seen the largest growth in market share.
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Jim McGill