VW sales mount a recovery
There were tentative signs of VW making a comeback in the UK during March, when registrations for new cars rose by 0.02 per cent compared to March 2015.
While that doesn’t sound like a major gain, it’s a big step up from figures in January and February, when VW year on year sales were down 14 and 13.8 per cent respectively.
Figures released by Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) found that 518,707 new VW cars were registered last month – just the third time it’s surpassed half a million in a single month.
The UK spike has been attributed to customers taking advantage of March’s plate change, which contributed to VW’s overall growth of 5.3 per cent.
The figures are contained in the latest UK car industry data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT), which said the new car market as a whole enjoyed 5.3 per cent growth in March as more than half a million buyers in Britain took advantage of last month’s plate change. Plates are changed every six months in the UK.
Speaking to the Financial Times, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said, ‘The sector’s strong growth in March rounds off a robust first quarter as British consumers continue to demonstrate their appetite for new cars, especially ultra-low emission vehicles. This consumer confidence should see registrations remain at a high but broadly stable level over the year but could be undermined by political or economic uncertainty.’
