A re-opening of car dealerships following the first lockdown only
slowed the decline in the number of cars registered for use on UK
roads, today’s official Vehicle Licensing Statistics reveal*.
While business got back on the road between July and September,
boosting new van registrations by 12.2% and motorcycles by 25.0%,
the number of new cars registered for the first time was down
0.5% on the same time last year.
With the lockdown, hundreds of thousands of cars were registered
with a Statutory Of Road Notification (SORN) and temporarily
taken off the road. Today’s Department for Transport figures show
that 265,000 more cars were declared with a SORN than in the
third quarter of last year.
Combined with 107,000 fewer cars registered in the UK during the
same period, the number of UK cars registered for use on UK roads
fell by 372,000. Overall, there were 481,000 fewer vehicles on
the road between July and September than in 2019.
That marks an improvement on the number of vehicles registered
during the first lockdown, but the pandemic continued to cull car
numbers as it ended:
Meanwhile, the number of Ultra Low Emission Vehicles registered
for the first time continued to show strong growth, up by 162% in
Q3 compared to the same period last year.
Commenting on today’s new vehicle licensing statistics, AA head
of roads policy Jack Cousens says: “Business bounced back after
the first lockdown and the jump in new van and motorbike/scooter
suggest it was deliveries that were driving the revival.
“Car drivers celebrated the re-opening of car dealerships with
586,000 new car registrations between July and September, but
this compares with 589,000 in the same period last year.”
Cousens adds: “The continued rise in new plug-in vehicles is much
welcomed, especially with the ban on new petrol and diesel sales
in 2030 on the horizon.
“Fully electric cars take four of the top five ULEVs registered
in the past year, showing just how popular they are and the
potential they have to become the default choice for many
drivers.
“For those still uncertain, plug-in hybrids will play the role of
the ‘gateway car’ before full EV ownership. More could be done to
increase the uptake of EVs, by offering better incentives such as
scrapping VAT on EVs less than £50,000**.”
ends
Notes to editors
* https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/942081/vehicle-licensing-statistics-july-to-september-2020.pdf
** https://www.theaa.com/about-us/newsroom/scrap-vat-on-electric-cars
