140,945 new cars were  registered in the UK last month. This represents a -1.6% year on year decline. With the announcement on the 23rd of October of Wales’ “firebreak” lockdown .. I guess that this is no surprise. In England we have just just started our month long lockdown, so all eyes will be on November’s new car registration figures.

When showrooms shut, demand drops, so there is a real danger that with England today entering a second lockdown, both dealers and manufacturers could face temporary closure. What is not in doubt, however, is that the entire industry now faces an even tougher end to the year as businesses desperately try to manage resources, stock, production and cashflow in the penultimate month before the inevitable upheaval of Brexit. Keeping showrooms open – some of the most Covid-secure retail environments around – would help cushion the blow but, more than ever, we need a tariff-free deal with the EU to provide some much-needed respite for an industry that is resilient but massively challenged.”

Said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive.

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