New car sales down

Ford cut the price of its entire range in September

New car registrations in the UK have fallen sharply during the past month, despite the fact that a new car registration scheme should have pushed the bulk of new car buying from August into September.

But customers, it seems, have been holding out for price cuts, as car firms are reacting to new government regulations forcing down prices.

Another problem was getting the cars to customers, as car transports were held up by the fuel crisis.

Compared with a year earlier, sales were down by 8.7% to 353,494, with the troubled Rover group faring particularly badly.

Rover sales slipped from 23,369 in September 1999 to just 13,005 - a much steeper decline than other car makers.

September Top 10

1. Ford Focus

2. Vauxhall Corsa

3. Peugeot 206

4. Ford Fiesta

5. Ford Mondeo

6. Vauxhall Astra

7. BMW 3 Series

8. Ford Ka

9. Vauxhall Vectra

10. Volkswagen Golf

Source: SMMT

According to figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Rover Cars had a 3.68% share of the market, compared with a 6.04% share in September 1999.

There was better news for Land Rover, now owned by Ford, where sales rose 1.34% last month.

Price cuts

Ford's decision to cut 13% from the price of all its models from October is not reflected in the figures yet. But the firm performed better than other car makers, possibly because of a generous cash-back promotion during the summer. Overall sales were down 3.5%.

Ford was one of the last big car firms to cut its prices.

Other manufacturers that had cut their prices before September, such as Mercedes and Audi, enjoyed a good month.

Elsewhere, Ford-owned Jaguar, Nissan and Renault all experienced big dips in sales, but Bentley and Citroen had a good month.

The September figures took the year 2000 new car sales total to 1,797,755 - a 1.2% fall on the January-September 1999 total.

Consumers, it seems, are still holding back, hoping for further price cuts.

The SMMT said its prediction for car sales until the end of the year remained at 2,225,000.