New car sales in Britain fell to their lowest level since 1991 in October

According to foreign media reports, figures released by the British industry association on November 4 show that as the shortage of semiconductor chips continues to deal a severe blow to the automotive industry, the number of new car registrations in the UK fell 25% year-on-year to 106265 in October this year, falling to the lowest October sales level since 1991.

However, sales of electric vehicles are still on the rise. In the first 10 months of 2021, electric vehicles (including pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles) had a market share of 16.6%, while hybrid vehicles had a market share of 9.1%. The combined market share of the two is 25.7%. In other words, more than 1/4 of new car sales in the UK so far this year come from electric models.

New car sales in the UK are expected to be 1.66 million for the year, just 1.6 per cent higher than in 2020, after the global car market was severely affected by the epidemic last year, according to (SMMT), the UK carmakers and dealers committee. Global chip shortages have forced many brands to cut production, and consumers have to wait longer to buy new cars. At present, automakers are facing the dual effects of insufficient supply and epidemic.

"the current market performance reflects a problem that supply constraints pose a huge challenge to the automotive industry, which is battling a shortage of semiconductors and a growing economic downturn," said Mike Hawes, chief executive of SMMT. "current economic problems include rising inflation, higher taxes and declining consumer confidence."