New car sales exceed expectations

More than 330,000 new cars were sold last month, less than one per cent fewer than a year ago, outperforming industry expectations, new figures showed yesterday.
By The Newsroom
Published 7th Oct 2011, 07:00 BST

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said the September plate-change saw 332,476 new cars registered, 0.8 per cent down on the same month last year. But the society said 2011 would be a “challenging” year, with an expected full-year sales total of 1.92 million, five per cent below 2010.

The Ford Fiesta was the best selling model last month in the year to date, followed by the Ford Focus.

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September is the second largest month for new car sales after March, representing almost 17 per cent of the annual market. New car demand was down by five per cent over the first nine months of the year, although it only dipped by 0.7 per cent in the third quarter, yesterday’s figures showed.

The SMMT said the outlook remained “uncertain”, given weakening economic growth and confidence, combined with the volatile financial markets.