New cars sales increase in October

07/11/11

By Matt Gibson

Sales of new cars during October were up on the same period last year but overall figures for the first 10 months of 2010 still exceed the number of vehicles shifted so far in 2011.

There was a 2.6 per cent rise in the number of new cars sold in October compared to the same month last year, with a total of 134,944 vehicles being registered during the month, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

But 1,688,038 new vehicles have been sold during the first 10 months of this year, which is 4.5 per cent lower than the number of cars sold in 2010 when registrations were boosted by the car scrappage scheme.

If this trend continues, overall sales for 2011 would reach just over 1.92 million, which would be lower than the 2.03 million new cars sold in 2010. Forecasts for next year suggest that 1.96 million vehicles will be sold.

SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said: "The October 2011 rise was a positive result despite the uncertain economic climate."