Low-emission cars help drive sales up

New cars continued to roll out of Scottish showrooms last month, with strong demand for low-emission models helping to fuel double-digit growth.

There was an 11.9 per cent year-on-year jump in registrations in November, according to industry figures published yesterday, outpacing a UK-wide gain of 11.3 per cent.

Douglas Robertson, chief executive of the Scottish Motor Trade Association, said: “We are pleased to note this continuing increase in new car registrations. It means that since July registrations in Scotland have increased by 15.4 per cent.

“Retail sales have increased by around 13 per cent this year and we view that as further confirmation that the buying public is becoming more aware of the real value in purchasing a new emission friendly car and the low running costs involved.”

He predicted that 2012 would see a total increase in new car registrations over 2011 of “close to 10 per cent”.

There were 13,191 registrations in Scotland last month. Across the UK, the total was 149,191.

The UK new car total for the first 11 months of this year increased 5.4 per cent to more than 1.92 million, making the UK the second largest new car market in the EU behind Germany.

Registrations by private buyers increased by more than a fifth last month.

The November total means that the year-end 2012 figure is likely to be the best since 2008. However, sales volumes remain below their 
pre-recession highs.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said: “The outlook for 2013 remains challenging.”