Consumers hold off car buying

‘Recent Government moves to address the economic situation should help stimulate the car market as we go into 2009, but we do expect to see some improvement this December, traditionally one of the quietest months for car dealers,’ said Sue Robinson, Director of the RMI National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), which represents UK car retailers, commenting on car sales figures for November 2008.

100,333 new cars were sold during November, 36.8 per cent down on 2007.

Robinson continues: ‘The economic measures introduced in the Pre-Budget Report last month will take time to have an impact. Some consumers may have put off completing car purchases until after the VAT reduction took effect, so that they could take advantage of the 2.5 per cent saving.

‘Many more will be waiting for the resulting economic stabilization, and for credit to become more readily available before considering buying a new car.

Robinson adds: ‘The economy is unlikely to make a major recovery until banks start lending sensibly, to consumers, to business, and to each-other. When this happens, car sales will increase again.