Scottish car sales hold up better than rest of UK

Scottish new car sales held up better than the rest of the UK last month, according to new figures that reveal only a modest year-on-year decline.

The Scottish Motor Trade Association said 11,483 cars were registered during November, a fall of just 3.4 per cent on the same month a year earlier, despite tiered travel and trading restrictions being in place. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

The Scottish Motor Trade Association said 11,483 cars were registered during November, a fall of just 3.4 per cent on the same month a year earlier, despite tiered travel and trading restrictions being in place.

There were declines in every region apart from Fife and Tayside which recorded increases in sales.

The best selling model last month was the Vauxhall Corsa followed by the new BMW 1-Series.

The Scottish figures come just days after it emerged that new car sales across the UK were down by more than a quarter in November, though industry leaders put on a brave face heading into 2021.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 113,781 new registrations were recorded across the UK last month, nearly 43,000 fewer than during November 2019 – a fall of about 27 per cent.

Trade has not been this poor since the 2008 recession, after showrooms in England were forced to close for most of November due to the latest coronavirus lockdown, though click and collect orders were processed.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “Compared with the spring lockdown, manufacturers, dealers and consumers were all better prepared to adjust to constrained trading conditions.

“But with £1.3 billion worth of new car revenue lost in November alone, the importance of showroom trading to the UK economy is evident and we must ensure they remain open in any future Covid restrictions.

“More positively, with a vaccine now approved, the business and consumer confidence on which this sector depends can only improve, giving the industry more optimism for the turn of the year.”

Private demand fell by 32.2 per cent last month, while the number of new cars added to larger fleets was down 22.1 per cent.

Sales of pure battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars continued to buck the overall trend, with surges across the UK of 122.4 per cent and 76.9 per cent respectively.

In Scotland, just over 8 per cent of new cars registered last month were pure electric while petrol/hybrid models accounted for a 10.8 per cent slice of sales.

There were just 12 diesel/hybrid cars sold, reflecting the decline in the category’s popularity, and representing 0.1 per cent of sales. Traditional diesel cars accounted for 17.7 per cent of overall Scottish registrations.

James Fairclough, chief executive of AA Cars, said: “Looking ahead to 2021, the government’s plan for a mass vaccination programme has buoyed expectations that the industry will be able to trade more normally.

“The tougher question will be how the pandemic’s economic fallout will affect people’s willingness to purchase big ticket items like a brand new car. Electric vehicles could be the secret ingredient that lures drivers back to the forecourts.”

Peter Barnes, partner and head of automotive at global legal business DWF, added: “The automotive industry has faced many challenges this year and with a trade deal yet to be agreed, Brexit is still one of them.”

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