UK new car sales fall 6% in October, industry data shows

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(Reuters) -New car registrations in the UK fell for the second time this year, dropping 6% to 144,288 in October, industry data showed on Tuesday.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said declines were recorded across all buyer types except battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

Nearly 300,000 new BEVs hit the road in 2024, representing 18.1% of the market share year-to-date, an increase of 16.3% from last year but still short of Britain’s 22% target.

During the Labour government’s first budget in October, finance minister Rachel Reeves increased incentives towards new zero-emission cars and support the take-up of new EVs.

“While the Budget extended existing business and fleet incentives for BEVs, the Vehicle Excise Duty and Company Car Tax changes disincentivise low carbon vehicle purchases and fleet renewal generally, risking a delay to the overall reduction in road transport emissions,” SMMT said in a statement.

BEVs saw a record growth of 24.5% in October, with a raft of new models driving the strongest gain this year, and reaching a market share of 20.7% for the month.

“Fleet renewal across the market remains the quickest way to decarbonise, so diminishing overall uptake is not good news for the economy, for investment or for the environment,” SMMT chief Mike Hawes said.

October’s overall market decline was equivalent to a loss in turnover of 350 million pounds ($454.2 million), the industry body said.

($1 = 0.7707 pounds)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)