A “triple whammy” of factors caused new car sales in Scotland to plunge by almost 17% in May, the motor trade’s representative body has said.
The Scottish Motor Trade Association (SMTA) yesterday blamed the drop on the pull forward of registrations in March, the cooling of the market and general election uncertainties.
Figures released by the organisation show the total number of new registrations in Scotland last month down 2,823 compared with the same time last year at 13,925 and a decrease in sales in all regions.
Sales in Grampian saw the lowest decline, falling 3.72% from 1,533 in 2016 to 1,476 this May. But in Highland they fell 16.1% from 770 to 646. Monthly figures for Strathclyde showed the highest year-on-year decrease at 22.78%, followed by Dumfries and Galloway at 21.83%.
SMTA chief executive Sandy Burgess said: “There is no doubt that the triple whammy of the pull forward of registrations in March, the cooling of the market and the uncertainty brought about by the general election
has created this scenario.
“We expect this trend to continue over the summer months possibly until we reach the September plate change.”
For the year to date new registrations in Scotland are 2.08% down compared with 2016.
Figures for the rest of the UK show a 7.7% fall last month from in May 2016 and a 0.56% drop for the year to date.
Mr Burgess added “The Scottish market has historically had a stronger penetration on private registrations than the rest of the UK.
“In these circumstances the triple whammy effect will have a greater impact.”
The SMTA said its figures showed a continued shift from diesel to petrol engines and a significant increase in the number of electric vehicles sold.