Official V-Facts car sales figures for June showed a market decline, the first time
new car sales have faltered in the last 14 months. The result is surprising given
June is historically our biggest month for new car sales and perhaps reflects the
rising cost of living pressures. Despite the June dip, sales in the first six months
of the year showed a year-to-date increase of 8.7 percent, tallying 632,412
vehicles and beating the previous six-month record set in 2018. Eight percent of
new vehicles sold in June were electric down slightly from 8.8 percent for the
same month last year. However, Tesla sales suffered a 33 per cent decline.
Despite the dip in electric vehicle sales there was strong demand for hybrid
models, up 71 percent compared to June last year and year-to-date up a healthy
113 percent. I’m David Berthon