According to statistics gathered from reviews about car companies in the UK, the coronavirus pandemic forced UK car sales down to the lowest level since 1992 in 2020. Since the Second World War, it is the largest annual decline, amid increasing electric car sales. Sales declined by 29 per cent to around 1.63m during the year, preliminary figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) validated this.

The first lockdown implemented in March, the critical month when a change in number plates typically boosts sales, was the primary cause of the decline. From late March until June, car showrooms in England were closed, forcing businesses to switch quickly to online sales and social distancing in factories.

“It was a very, very difficult year,” Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said. “These are unprecedented levels [of disruption], and they have continuously challenged the industry.” As recently as 2016, revenue peaked at 2.7m, but 2020 marked the first time that overall sales dropped below 2m since 2011. Hawes said that last year’s national lockdown makes it impossible for sales in 2021 to get back above that amount again.

Although diesel and petrol vehicles’ sales declined abruptly, battery electric car sales nearly tripled to just under 110,000 during 2020. And it accounts for around 6.6 per cent of total sales. The addition of plug-in hybrid electric cars that combine internal combustion engines with externally charged batteries meant that the market share of plug-in vehicles for the first time grew … Read More ...