The British car market has entered a major dip in the past month, partly due to a second lockdown. Compared to November last year, there is a decrease of 27.4 percent to 113,781 cars sold. This makes it the worst month of November since 2008.
The fall in the number of cars sold due to the new lockdown was less severe than in April. Then the number of license plate registrations fell by no less than 97.3 percent. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the less severe fall in November can be explained by the fact that dealers and manufacturers were now better prepared than in April. However, the total loss for the full year remains significant. Compared to the original plan for 2020, the sector has lost a total of 663,761 cars to date. Obviously, this gap will no longer be closed in the United Kingdom this year.
Nevertheless, there are also pluses noted in the November figures. Indeed, sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids increased again in the United Kingdom. Last year, 4,362 EVs were sold in November, this year there are 10,345. The market share increased from 3 percent to more than 9 percent. The number of plug-in hybrids sold increased from 4,362 to 7,717 cars, increasing the market share by four percent. In addition, the figures show that mild hybrids are also increasingly gaining ground. The sale of diesels has been hit the hardest: the decline there was 56.2 percent compared to November last year, to a number of 15,925 cars.
In the Netherlands, the fall in the number of license plate registrations is a lot less severe: compared to November last year, the Dutch market recorded a minus of 14.3 percent last month. Here, too, the EV is on the rise.