New car registrations down a WHOPPING 34.4% in September

New car registrations in the UK dropped by 34.4 per cent in September 2021 as Chip shortages curtailed production numbers.

New car registration numbers have been all over the place since Covid hit in the spring of 2020, but now, with Covid less of a worry, it’s a shortage of semiconductor chips causing issues.

Despite September being a high registration month thanks to the bi-annual plate change, numbers for September are down 34.4 per cent on 2020 – itself impacted by Covid – and are the lowest September numbers – 215,312 – since the bi-annual plate change came in to play in 1999.

The ray of light, according to the SMMT, is that registrations of BEVs and PHEVs continue to rise, although there is an argument that car makers are prioritising the manufacture of these cars at the expense of ICE production.

That said, sales of BEVs are up by almost 50 per cent on 2020 and PHEVs up by 11.5 per cent as diesel sales dropped by 77 per cent and petrol by 46.6 per cent.

The low registration numbers also mean an unfamiliar chart for September, with the Tesla Model 3 the best-seller, and not a single French car in the top ten.

Mike Hawes, SMMT CEO, said:

This is a desperately disappointing September and further evidence of the ongoing impact of the Covid pandemic on the sector. Despite strong demand for new vehicles over the summer, three successive months have been hit by stalled supply due to reduced semiconductor availability, especially from Asia. Nevertheless, manufacturers are taking every measure possible to maintain deliveries and customers can expect attractive offers on a range of new vehicles.