New car sales inched up in August, but remain a more than a third down on pre-pandemic levels as the impact of computer chip shortages persists.
Data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders on Monday showed new car registrations rose by 1.2 per cent last month compared with the same period last year.
Almost 69,000 new cars were registered in the first monthly growth since February.
But new registrations so far this year are more than a third down at 35.3 per cent compared with 2019, the society said.
"August's new car market growth is welcome, but marginal during a low volume month,” said the society's chief executive Mike Hawes.
"Spiralling energy costs and inflation, on top of sustained supply chain challenges, are piling even more pressure on the automotive industry's post-pandemic recovery, and we urgently need the new prime minister to tackle these challenges and restore confidence and sustainable growth.”
With August being a traditionally quiet month for the industry as many people choose to wait for new number plates to be released, September will be the first true test, Mr Hawes added.
Car manufacturers were forced to scrap plans for millions of new vehicles over the past two years due to shortages of computer chips, which are also known as semiconductors.
Experts said the problem was developing for years before the pandemic, in part due to the rise of 5G, which increased demand.
The components are used in many products, including washing machines, smartphones and cars, which often use thousands of individual chips.
Estimates suggest as many as 13 million vehicles were cut from production as a result of the shortage, which is showing signs of easing.
But the impact is expected to be long lasting after companies’ “war room operations” became embedded features of vehicle development.
"A slight easing of global supply shortages is leading to a welcome increase in UK car production and new car sales," Richard Peberdy, UK head of automotive at professional services company KPMG, said.
"But a rising cost of living threatens consumer appetite, whilst rising energy and other inflationary costs are putting pricing under pressure.
"The remainder of 2022 is set to further challenge the UK car industry, despite the welcome easing of component availability."
The figures also showed the uptake of pure electric new cars is slowing, with year-to-date registrations up 48.8 per cent, compared with 101.9 per cent at the end of March.
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3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
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5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
MATCH INFO
Karnataka Tuskers 110-5 (10 ovs)
Tharanga 48, Shafiq 34, Rampaul 2-16
Delhi Bulls 91-8 (10 ovs)
Mathews 31, Rimmington 3-28
Karnataka Tuskers win by 19 runs
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Calls
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillian, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
4/5
