Car Sales Continue To Rise

Car sales grew for the 39th consecutive month by 2.4% in May

Car sales grew by 2.4% year-on-year this May with almost 200,000 new car registrations and analysts are hopeful that the growth experienced in car sales will continue at a steady rate. Plug-in vehicles also saw an excellent growth in sales with demand for low-emission vehicles rising fourfold, but the manufacturer that dominated the list of the most cars sold was Ford. The Fiesta was the bestseller last month with 9,349 models sold, and the Focus was the second best-selling car with 7,355 models sold. This year to date, the Ford Fiesta has been the bestselling model of car, with almost 60,000 models being sold.

There are concerns that although sales are continuing to rise year on year, growth is actually slowing down. Compared to last year, where the increase in car sales from April – May was 31%, this year it was only 7%. Of course, comparing month-on-month figures takes a somewhat narrow view as it does not account for the biannual drastic increase in registrations, but growth from April – May was significantly lower this year than last. Another issue is that the number of cars financed through loans has increased compared to those buying a vehicle with cash.

Companies have attempted to make it easier for consumers to purchase a new car using a loan; Lloyds Banking Group have released an online platform called Car Plan Extra. The finance platform will allow Halifax internet banking customers the opportunity to prearrange car financing and transfer the money to the dealership once a sale has been agreed. Individuals can obtain loans for any amount between £3,000 and £60,000 and those with excellent credit records can obtain loans with annual interest rates as low as 3.6%.

Tradex is a leading provider of motor trade insurance in the UK.