The UK new car market fell by 7.4 percent to 137,746 units. This was the 10th successive monthly decline in volumes and the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) that keeps track of those things thinks its just cushty.
The society expected worse, and declared that “the market was 1.5 percent ahead of forecast and on par with the 2010 market” if one removes the effects to the “banger for cash” scrappage scheme. For the first four months of 2011, UK registrations are down 8.5 percent to 696,082 units. Undaunted, the SMMT thinks that the UK is good for 1.93 million units in whole year 2011 sales.
With 52.7 percent of the total market running on oil, the Brits are even more into diesel that the Germans, where 46.7 percent of new car registrations were oilburners in April. The VW Golf was the best selling diesel in April. The Ford Fiesta remains the top selling car overall in the month and year-to-date.
The British Leyland tradition lives: If the news isn’t as bad as was expected, it’s considered a success.
Down only 7.4%? That’s great! Grand Britannia narrowly avoids becoming an economic laughing stock like its neighbors. Hooray!