According to the report from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the UK new car market has recorded its weakest September since 1998 ahead of the introduction of the two-plate system in 1999.

Some 215,312 cars were registered in the month, a -34.4% fall on September 2020, when pandemic restrictions were significantly curtailing economic activity. September is typically the second busiest month of the year for the industry, but with the ongoing shortage of semiconductors impacting vehicle availability, the 2021 performance was down some -44.7% on the pre-pandemic ten-year average.

However, September was the best month ever for new battery electric vehicle (BEV) uptake. With a market share of 15.2%, 32,721 BEVs joined the road in the month, reflecting the wide range of models now available and growing consumer appetite. Indeed, the September performance was just over 5,000 shy of the total number registered during the whole of 2019.

Looking at market segmentation, private demand was down -25.3% with 120,560 new registrations in the month, but a bigger fall was recorded in large fleets, which declined by -43.1% to 90,445 units. As a result of the month’s disappointing performance, registrations year to date are now only 5.9% ahead of 2020 figures, and -29.4% down on the pre-pandemic decade-long average.