New car sales slump as consumer confidence evaporates

Some significant news from the UK motor trade today confirms that “big-ticket” consumer products are suffering from a sharp fall in demand…

The news from the SMMT looks pretty dire:

* New car registrations fall 21.2% in September to 330,295 units.
* Year-to-date volume is down 7.5% to 1,794,419 units.
* Diesel market share increases to 42.8% in September, but volumes fell.
* SMMT urges government to take immediate action to restore consumer confidence.

Sales of luxury cars and 4x4’s have been particularly badly hit, as you can see from the latest sales volume and market share data from the SMMT report:

Car buyers desert the showrooms