LONDON (dpa-AFX) - UK car market returned to growth in May as discounting helped to boost demand for electric vehicles, data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, or SMMT, showed Thursday.
Car registrations increased 1.6 percent year-on-year to 150,070 units in May. It was the best May performance since 2021, but still 18.3 percent lower than in pre-pandemic 2019.
The lobby said this was only the second month of growth reflecting brittle consumer confidence and economic turbulence.
Data showed that the uptake of hybrid electric vehicles grew 6.8 percent, while plug-in hybrid electric vehicles advanced 50.8 percent.
Meanwhile, registrations of battery electric vehicles surged 25.8 percent, accounting for 21.8 percent of the market as manufacturers continued to support sales with attractive incentives.
'A return to growth for new car registrations in May is welcome but manufacturer discounting on new products continues to underpin the market, notably for electric vehicles,' SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said.
Hawes cautioned that this cannot be sustained indefinitely as it undermines the ability of companies to invest in new product development - investments which are integral to the decarbonisation of all road transport.
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