UK new car sales in May highest for 6 years

UK new car sales in May highest for 6 years

In spite of the current financial situation, Brits are lining-up to purchase new vehicles, the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) suggest.

May saw new car sales achieving their best level since 2007. In total, 180,111 new vehicles were registered last month; an increase of 11% over May 2012's figures. Of these new cars, over 84,000 were purchased by private buyers, meaning normal motorists instead of fleet buyers. This shows an increase of a fifth over May 2012's levels, and is even more than levels were before the current recession.

The interim chief executive of SMMT, Mike Baunton, filling in for Michael Hawes, commented that the sales levels were a "significant milestone", and that May was the fifteenth month in a row of growth in the new car market. To date there have been 948,666 new cars sold in 2013, which is up 9.3% over the same time period of 2012, but is still 9.2% lower than in 2007.

Mike Baunton continued: "While it is clear that buying confidence among UK motorists is very strong, continued economic uncertainty abroad, particularly in the rest of Europe, will mean that manufacturers remain cautious about performance in the second half of 2013."

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