July sees a decline in new car registrations, macro environment still a challenge for dealers

“The new car market has experienced a decline in July, with registrations down -5.0%” said Sue Robinson, Chief Executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), which represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers in the UK commenting on the latest SMMT new car registration figures.

In July, a total of 140,154 new cars were registered, a decrease of -5.0% from the same period last year. Sales to private buyers were down by -3.2% whilst fleet registrations were also down by -6.5%.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) registered 29,825 units (9.1%). Plug-in hybrid (PHEVs) registrations are at 33.0%, 17,489 units and hybrids (HEVs) registered 18,551 units (-10.0%).

Diesel saw 8,018 units registered (-7.9%) compared to 8,708 in June 2024 whereas petrol saw a drop from 77,702 units to 66,271 units (-14.7%).

Sue Robinson concluded: “We are disappointed to see a reversal of the gains made in June. Looking ahead, we are likely to see continued pressure on the new vehicle market, due to weak economic growth. We expect electric vehicles sales to continue to increase as a result of the Government’s Electric Car Grant (ECG), however they remain someway off the ZEV Mandate targets for 2025. Once the consumer has a clear understanding of the ECG and manufacturers have applied the grant discount of £3,750, an uptake in registrations should increase.”