More than 10 million new and used cars will be sold in the UK in 2019, marking the fifth year running that the benchmark figure has been exceeded despite the headwinds hitting the sector.
Although the figures, published by Cox Automotive alongside its forecasts for Q1 2020, show a 2.1% fall on the 2018 full-year figures, the firm said it showed how the market was returning to a more sustainable level following the 2017 peak.
Philip Nothard, customer insight and strategy director for Cox Automotive UK, said: “Our 2019 forecasts have proved extremely accurate, and are within less than 1% of the SMMT figures released so far.
“While 10 million new and used car transactions represents a YoY decline, it’s a fantastic achievement considering the headwinds that have buffeted the industry throughout the year.”
Cox Automotive has also published its forecast for Q1 2020, predicting 692,000 new car registrations (down 1.3% YoY) and 1.96 million used car transactions (down 2.7% YoY) across the first three months of 2020.
