Semiconductor shortages and cost-of-living pressures hit car sales in the UK last month, despite more motorists turning to electric vehicles. New car registrations in Britain fell about 14% in March from a year earlier, despite lifting restrictions on the Covid-19 last month, industry preliminary data released this morning showed. That would require registrations below 250,000, well below the March average of 450,000 in the decade before the pandemic. March is usually the biggest month for the automotive sector, because the “new” license plates are coming. But the pressures on household finances will mean that some families will delay getting a shiny new car, as rising food, fuel and energy costs are having a negative impact. budgets. Chip shortages continue to plague the industry as supply chains continue to struggle after two years of pandemic disruption. Car production in the UK fell 41% year-on-year in February, according to data from last month. In addition to the difficulty of supplying chips, manufacturers have also been hit by rising metal costs as the war in Ukraine pushed commodity prices sharply higher. Car sales in the UK had risen year-on-year in January and February (compared to weak sales in 2021, when the pandemic hit the industry), so the March drop reverses this trend. However, electric vehicles are in increasing demand as motorists avoid diesel. Today’s report is expected to show that March was the best month for sales of battery-powered electric vehicles, with last month’s rankings surpassing those for the whole of 2019. Gary Robertson (@BBCGaryR) Electric car sales have soared with data today from @SMMT expected to show the number that left the UK suburbs last month exceeded sales for the whole of 2019. But the total number of new registrations is not yet close at pre-pandemic levels # bbcgms 0655 April 5, 2022 SMMT will publish the final data for March at 9 a.m.
He is also coming today
The latest PMI surveys will show how businesses in the UK, the eurozone and the US did last month in the face of rising energy and commodity prices and the ongoing pandemic. Oil prices are rising as the United States and France call for a significant escalation of sanctions against Russia following the shocking discovery of hundreds of bodies of civilians in cities around Kyiv. Brent crude rose 1.5% this morning to $ 109.
THE AGENDA
9 a.m. BST: Car sales in the UK for March 9 a.m. BST: Eurozone Services PMI for March (final reading) 9.30 a.m. BST: UK services sector PMI for March (final reading) 13:30 BST: US Trade Fair for February 3 p.m. GMT: US Services PMI for March (final reading)
