Our take on the latest Car registrations (Fri 4 Oct 2019)
New small car registrations up 34%pa
New rental car registrations up 37%pa
Used small car registrations up 6.4%pa
The key numbers...
- New car registrations grew 9.4%pa in September thanks to a staggering 34pa% rise in new small car registrations, while the number of new large cars registered was almost exactly the same as a year earlier.
- New car registrations received a boost from new rental car registrations, which rose 37%pa in September, continuing the strong rises recorded in July and August.
- Used car registrations edged up 0.8%pa in September 2019, with used small car registrations rising 6.4% and used large car registrations falling 3.2%.
New small car registrations
APC
...and our reaction
- The chink of daylight in new car registrations we reported in August became even brighter in September, with strong rises in both new and used small car registrations.
- Registrations of new rental cars continue to pick up as rental car companies prepare for the peak tourist season, even though growth in tourist numbers has slowed substantially over the last three years.
- Excluding new rental cars, new car registrations grew for the first time in almost a year.
- Continued, albeit slower, population growth offers some support to car registrations, but with economic growth slowing, business confidence in the doldrums and consumer confidence weakening it remains to be seen whether the current momentum in car registration can be maintained into summer.
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