UK new car sales fall to worst June in 26 years amid chip shortages
New car sales in the UK fell by almost a quarter last month, the worst June since 1996, as global chip shortages hammered the industry, according to industry figures.
Global shortages of components such as semiconductors continue to hamper manufacturers’ ability to keep up with demand, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.
Registrations of new cars were down 24% last month compared with June 2021, according to preliminary figures from the trade body.
Drivers are waiting more than 12 months to take delivery of some models. Only about 800,000 new cars were sold during the first half of the year, down 12% compared with the same period in 2021, and the second-weakest first-half performance since 1992.
Jim Holder, the editorial director of the magazine and website What Car?, said car buyers are affected by a number of problems. New car orders are delayed, while rising energy bills are pushing up manufacturing costs, which is increasing prices for consumers. “The result is longer waiting times on cars which will cost more to buy,” he said.
In a sign that things may be improving, UK car production in May grew for the first time since June 2021, up 13.3%, with 62,284 units leaving factory gates, separate SMMT figures showed last week.
Separate figures from green motoring consultancy New AutoMotive show 16% of new cars registered in June were pure electric, up from 11% during the same month last year.
The company’s co-founder, Ben Nelmes, said electric cars “defied gravity” last month by “continuing to grow while overall new car registrations were down by a quarter”.
Rising petrol and diesel prices are driving consumers towards electric cars but the supply of vehicles cannot keep pace with demand, he said.
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