UK car market records best year since financial crisis
07/01/2014
Britain’s new car market recorded its best year for sales in 2013 since before the 2007 financial crisis.
British consumers bought more than 2.26 million vehicles in the past 12 months, representing a rise on 10.5pc on the previous 12 months, consolidating Britain’s position as Europe’s second largest car market, behind Germany.
The results have come on the back of growing consumer confidence in the UK, as well as cheaper credit availability. This is reflected in the UK car market being the only one in Europe to grow consistently over the past year, with all other major markets (excluding Spain) declining.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ (SMMT) welcomed the news as they predicted total sales to be slightly lower at 2.25 million.
The SMMT added that more than one in seven of these sales were cars that were built in Britain, and claimed that the growth is sustainable feeding through into 2014.
“With the UK economy looking increasingly positive, we can expect strong underlying demand for new cars to continue into 2014,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive.
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