Tweet
- SMMT confirms 174,564 car registrations in January - up 2.3% on January 2016
- Car buyers are looking to beat VED changes due on April 1 that will make low-emissions models costlier to run
- As a result, private sales were up 5% year-on-year and hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales increased by almost 20%
- Is it too late to order now? Experts suggest buyers may have missed the boat to beat the car-tax deadline
January saw the highest highest number of new cars registered since 2005, industry data revealed today. The 174,564 vehicles registered was 2.3 per cent up on the same month last year and it seems the order rush was prompted by changes to Vehicle Excise Duty that will make many cars - especially low-emissions vehicles - more expensive to own from April 1. Any model delivered by March 31 that emits less than 100g/km of carbon dioxide is free to tax and will continue to be in the future under the current system. However, the same vehicles delivered from April 1 will be subject to a new annual standard car tax rate of £140 from the second year of ownership thereafter as the Treasury looks to increase its takings from motorists.
Car buyers have reacted to the upcoming changes fairly swiftly, with private motorists triggering the biggest growth in car registrations last month. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said that of the 174,500 vehicles registered, 76,729 were purchased by private members of the public - that's a five per cent increase on the same month in 2016. It also means that of all UK models registered in January, 44 per cent were bought by private buyers. That compares to just 38 per cent the month previous. There was a much bigger appetite for Alternative-Fuel Vehicles (hybirds, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen and pure-electric cars), with 19.9 per cent more of these models delivered year-on-year in January as motorists looked to secure a car before they're subject to the £140-a-year standard tax rate. It meant that AFVs recorded a 4.2 per cent total market share of all registrations - the first time this vehicle class has surpassed the four per cent mark since records began. Petrol-powered cars were also in demand, with an 8.9 per cent year-on-year jump in sales. With many small-capacity unleaded models emitting sub-100g/km CO2, the upswing is also likely to be helped by buyers wanting to take delivery of these cars before the new tax rates come into force.....Source