November 2009 new car sales figures

The official figures are in for november 2009 and are they’re up 57.6% on a very weak November 2008 with 168,942 units being registered. Obviously the scrappage scheme is still having a massive impact, but with the figures broadly in line with November 2007 can the industry sustain itself when the scheme draws to a close?

· New car registrations up 57.6% on weak 2008 to 158,082 units, in line with November 2007 volumes.
· YTD reg’s down 8.8% at 1,844,063 units but full year market likely to exceed 1.975 million units.
· Scrappage accounted for 21.6% of all new car registrations in November.
· Business, fleet and private sales increased in the month with private up 141.2%.

From SMMT:

“The increase in new car registrations in November reflects the positive impact of the Scrappage Incentive Scheme, customers avoiding the VAT increase in January and the very difficult conditions we experienced a year ago,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. “SMMT is urging 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.”

Download report here…