British new car sales dropped almost 30% last year in their biggest annual decline since 1943 as lockdowns to reduce the spread of the coronavirus hit the sector, an industry body said on Wednesday.
Demand stood at 1.63 million cars in 2020, according to information provided by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It was particularly hard hit by a 97% decline in April, the first full month of a national lockdown.
Dealerships gradually resumed in June on different dates throughout the United Kingdom’s four nations.
“We lost almost three-quarters of a million units over three or four months, which we never got back,” said SMMT CEO Mike Hawes.
Showrooms in the country were closed again during a second lockdown in November but many were better prepared with “click and collect” options, permitting more purchases, but still leading to a 27% year-on-year decline.
The performance leaves new car sales at their lowest level since 1992, and suffering the biggest decline since 1943, when sales dropped by over 90%.
Then, the UK was fighting World War Two, and the industry was reorganized for the effort.
In 2020, diesel car registrations more than halved, while almost 30% of sales were electric, hybrid, and mild hybrid vehicles as Britain brought forward a prohibition on the sale of new combustion engine-only cars to 2030.
The sector was also awaiting a trade deal with the European Union. An agreement was reached on December 24, indicating immediate tariffs and disruption were avoided, but the sector has warned of further costs.
The automobile sector, like others, now faces the challenge of new lockdowns declared in England and Scotland this week.
The SMMT expects sales to be less than 2 million this year, with the sector nervously looking ahead to March, one of the top two selling months of the year because of the change in the licence plate series.
“Where the industry is focussed at the moment, is what do we need to do to try to sustain sales …, sustain manufacturing over the next two to three months, especially with March being such a critical month for the industry and that will undoubtedly be affected,” said Hawes.
About 2,836,801 people in the United Kingdom have been confirmed as being infected with the coronavirus. The virus has killed about 77,346 people in the country.
