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The UK new car market has declined for the third month in a row as the fall-out from the new, harsher VED rates comes into force.
According to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), 243,454 vehicles were registered in June, a fall of 4.8% compared with the previous month.
Once again, the fleet market weathered the storm better than the private and consumer sectors, with registrations falling by 2.4% compared with drops of 7.8% and 8.3% respectively.
Fleet registrations fell by 5.3% in May and by 12.3% in April.
However, compared with the first six months of 2016, the fleet market is still ahead by 1.5% thanks to a stellar first quarter. Overall registrations are 1.3% down on the first half of last year.
June proved to be a good month for alternatively fuelled vehicle registrations, with demand rising by 29.0% to 10,721 units with a 4.4% market share.
Diesel registrations once again plummeted - by 14.7% - during the month, possibly due to the continued negative press surrounding the use of the fuel, while petrol registrations grew by 2.5%.
For the first time since December 2014, the Ford Fiesta was not the most-registered vehicle of the month, with that accolade going to the Volkswagen Golf on 8,808 units, with the Fiesta in second on 8,601.
However, the Fiesta still tops the year-to-date registrations list on 59,380 units ahead of the Ford Focus (40,045) and VW Golf (36,703).
Despite the registrations slump, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, remained positive: "As forecast, demand for new cars has started to cool following five consecutive years of solid growth but the numbers are still strong and the first half of the year is the second biggest on record."
He added: "Provided consumer and business confidence holds, we expect demand to remain at a similarly high level over the coming months. It's encouraging to see alternatively fuelled vehicles experiencing rapid growth but adoption is still at a relatively low level and more long-term incentives are required if this new generation of vehicles is to be a more common sight on British roads."
Chris Bosworth, director of strategy at Close Brothers Motor Finance, said:"This month marks the third consecutive fall in new car sales. With inflation hitting its highest level in four years and no real term increase in wages, it's perhaps unsurprising that car buyers have decided to stake stock and hold off of purchases. And there may be further market disruption afoot: with the Brexit negotiations in full swing, the UK has entered into a period of unchartered economic uncertainty, and we anticipate this will have a real impact on consumer spending habits in the months ahead."
Graham Hill, car finance expert at the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers, said: "It was always forecast that March's stampede to beat the VED deadline would in turn mean less registrations in consequent months, so this is no great surprise. Set against the wider backdrop, the new car market is still in rude health ? after all, the first half of the year was the second biggest on record."
Related content:
SMMT calls for interim trade agreements with EU as Brexit talks begin
New car registrations fall in May
New car registrations collapse in April as new VED rates come in
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