July car sales decline

The Ford Focus remains a top seller

UK new car sales fell in July as buyers held back ahead of the new X registrations - and the promise of price cuts to come.

A total of 156,588 new cars were registered in July, down 6.4% on the same month last year, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The July total took new car sales so far this year to 1,373,033 - up 1.1% from the first seven months of last year.

Top 10 July sellers

1. Ford Focus

2. Ford Mondeo

3. Vauxhall Astra

4. Peugeot 206

5. Ford Fiesta

6. Fiat Punto

7. Renault Megane

8. Vauxhall Corsa

9. Vauxhall Vectra

10. Volkswagen Golf

The SMMT said the new car sales figures were down so sharply on the year because they compare with a record high for July reported in 1999.

Rover, currently undergoing a complete management reorganisation following its sale by Germany's BMW, had another poor month with sales down nearly 17% compared with the same month last year.

The SMMT said that total July sales had traditionally been slow because the number plate change came into effect in August.

But it said now that new number plate registrations come out in March and September, sales throughout the year were becoming smoother.

"July is beginning to settle into a smoother pattern under the new registration plate system after a meteoric rise last year," SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan said.

But the SMMT did note that demand from private car buyers slipped in July as they awaited the new X-registrations.

Good future prospects

The SMMT was upbeat about prospects for further growth throughout the year, predicting that the market will grow by 25,000 units to 2.225 million this year.

"The new car market is healthy, with an array of attractive deals and new models on offer, and now that uncertainty has been removed on the pricing issue, the year ahead looks very bright," Mr Macgowan said, refering to recent government moves to reduce car prices.

In an effort to cut car prices in the UK, the government recently unveiled a series of measures to make it easier for dealers to buy cars cheaply from authorised dealers in other European countries.

The Ford Focus continued to be the market's top seller, and the Ford Mondeo saw strong demand, jumping to second place from eighth place in May.

There was also demand for small cars as both the Peugeot 206 and the Fiat Punto moved up in the top 10 cars.