First-time vehicle registrations decline in 2011

Date: 18/4/2012

There was a decline in the number of new vehicles registered in the UK in 2011.

Government figures show just over 2.38 million motors were registered for the first time, a decline of 1.5 per cent - or 36,000 vehicles - compared with the previous year.

This meant the figure for 2011 was the lowest since 1995, although it was higher than the total of 2.37 million first registrations in 2009.

The Department for Transport suggested the difficult economic climate contributed to a downward trend from 2008 onwards, although new vehicle registrations as a whole have generally been falling since the early 2000s.

"However, the previous government's Vehicle Scrappage Scheme helped to boost first registrations between May 2009 and April 2010," it was noted.

Although first-time motor registrations as a whole may be falling, data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed diesel registrations went up by 4.9 per cent in February compared with January.

Posted by Mary Treen