Car sales soar as scrappage keeps buyers on accelerator

Published on Friday 4 December 2009 21:28

NEW car sales soared last month as consumers took advantage of the government's car scrappage scheme.

&#149 A mechanic quarries scrapped cars for parts before they go for recycling

A total of 158,082 new vehicles were registered in November – a huge 57.6 per cent increase on the November 2008 figure, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. Sales to private buyers rocketed 141.2 per cent.

The "cash for bangers" scheme accounted for 21.6 per cent of all new sales last month.

The November figures took sales for the first 11 months of the year to more than 1.84 million, still 8.8 per cent down on the January-November 2008 total.

The SMMT now expects the full 2009 sales total to be just above 1.95m. The 2008 total was 2.13m.

Last month's figures look particularly good as November 2008 showed the deepest monthly decline in the 15-month run of falls in sales – a sequence that finally ended in July this year.

Last month's sales were on a par with those of November 2007.

SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said: "The increase in new car registrations in November reflects the positive impact of the scrappage scheme, customers avoiding the VAT increase in January and the very difficult conditions we experienced a year ago.

"We are urging the government to use its Pre-Budget Report to sustain the recovery and generate business confidence by stimulating demand in key parts of the new vehicle market."

The SMMT warned the outlook was uncertain, with the scrappage scheme ending soon, VAT returning to 17.5 per cent next month and the new first-year road tax rates coming into effect in April.