New car registrations drop to lowest level in almost thirty years in 2020
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Wednesday 06 Jan 2021
(Sharecast News) - New car registrations in the UK dropped to the lowest level seen in almost three decades in 2020 as the sector witnessed the biggest one-year fall since the Second World War.
Preliminary figures from the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed on Wednesday that approximately 1.63m new cars were registered in 2020, a 29% decline when compared to the 2.3m registered in 2019 and the lowest total since 1992.
The SMMT said the majority of sales lost in the year was a result of Britain's first lockdown back in the Spring, when showrooms and factories were both forced to close.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "We lost half a million units from March, April, May - and we never recovered them."
However, restrictions imposed later in 2020 caused less damage to the industry, principally due to dealers being permitted to sell cars remotely by using click and collect services.
"We can still do click and collect, which is important, because that's the very minimum we need," said Hawes.
"Not just to keep retail going, but also to keep manufacturing going."
The SMMT also highlighted that the coronavirus pandemic has cost the auto industry around £20.0bn, with serious concerns around just how much the car market can recover in 2021 due to both further lockdown measures announced by Boris Johnson earlier in the week and Britain's departure from the European Union.
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