Biggest annual decline in peacetime – 2020 has been a year of record rates of decline on a number fronts, not least within the car industry. Brexit and lockdowns were two headwinds for the sector that dampened demand. New UK car sales slumped by 29% last year which represented the steepest annual fall since World War II (1943) with sales volumes plumbing their lowest level since 1992. 2020 marked the fourth consecutive year of declining car sales in the UK with a cumulative decline of 40% (1.1 million cars) since 2016’s peak. Electric vehicle sales have been one bright spot at the expense of petrol and diesel engine vehicles. Battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles saw sales soar by 186% and 91% respectively last year. As a result, electric vehicles now account for 1 in 10 of all new car sales, up from 1 in 30 in 2019.
