The registration of new cars here in the UK for July 2024 made it the 24th month in a row that sales have increased. We are sure you will agree that despite the economic climate here in the UK still looking less than satisfactory it is commendable that this sector of the motor trade industry is looking positive.
According to data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the number of new car sales in the UK grew by 2.5% in July 2024 when compared with the same month last year. New car registrations in July 2024 amounted to 147,517 compared to 143,921 in July 2023. If you break the market down to private, fleet and business sales you will see that the sale of new cars for the private sector in July 2024 amounted to 53,356 compared to 60,046 for July 2023 – a fall of 11.1%. Fleet sales in July 2024 totalled 91,512 compared to 80,963 in July 2023 – a rise of 13.0%. Business new car sales in July 2024 amounted to 2,640 compared to 2,912 in July 2023 – a drop of 9.3%.
On a year to date basis to July 2024, the number of new cars registered in the UK amounted to 1,154,280 in comparison to 1,093,641 in July 2023. This equates to a rise of 5.5%. The market share for the private sector fell from 45.3% on a year to date basis to July 2023 to 37.8% on a year to date basis to July 2024. The market share for fleet sales grew from 52.3% to 59.9% in the 12 months to July 2024. The market share for the business sector dropped from 2.4% to 2.3% in the 12 months to July 2024.
It is interesting to read that electrified new car registrations made up for 42.0% of all new cars sold in July 2024. On a year to date basis to July 2024, new electric car sales made up for 38.8% of the market compared to 35.3% for the same period to July 2023. It is interesting to see that the market share for new diesel cars on a year to date basis to July 2024 amounted to 6.5% down from 7.9% for the same period to July 20-23. New petrol car market share was 54.7% on a year to date basis to July 2024 compared to 56.8% for the same period in 2023.
The top 5 selling new cars in the UK on a year to date basis to July 2024 were: –
1. Ford Puma 29,792
2. Kia Sportage 28,138
3. Nissan Qashqai 26,514
4. Volkswagen Golf 22,045
5. Nissan Juke 21,982
Let us hope that we continue to see the number of new cars registered here in the UK continue to go up throughout the remainder of 2024 and beyond.
