A number of premium car makers saw big drops in new car registrations in January, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Audi and Porsche suffered notable losses compared with the same period last year, recording falls of 27% and 42% respectively. Those figures contrasted with a significant year-on-year increase of nearly 80% for Volvo, boosted by the launch of the new Volvo XC40.
Jaguar Land Rover's well-publicised sales decreases seem to be slowing (in the UK at least), with Jaguar recording a 2.4% drop and Land Rover a 1% drop.
Overall, the UK car market dipped by 1.6% over January 2018, with just over 161,000 cars registered. SMMT boss Mike Hawes called the figures "encouraging", but acknowledged it was still the fifth consecutive month of decline for the UK.
"To restore momentum, we need supportive policies, not least on vehicle taxation, to encourage buyers to invest in new, cleaner vehicles that best suit their driving needs – from the latest petrols and diesels to an ever growing range of exciting electrified vehicles" Hawes continued.
A continuing trend is the decline in market interest in diesels, with registrations down 20.1%, while petrol-powered models registered a 7.3% increase. Alternatively-fuelled vehicles (such as hybrids and battery electric models) continued to see strong growth, up 26.3% year-on-year.
There was also a marked decline in business registrations, down 33.5%, offset slightly by buyers returning to dealers as private sales grew 2.9%.
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UK car registrations fall 6.8% in 2018, plus best-sellers revealed
