13 Lucky for Some

In Driving in the UK by Jonathan Humphrey

The SMMT has revealed that the 13-plate has outsold the past nine registration plates.

The SMMT the society of manufacturers and traders shows the 13-plate has, up until the end of July, overtaken all previous plates dating back to September 2008. It has been registered to 1,115,459 vehicles since it came into use in March this year and even with the August registrations still to be included, it has outsold the previous plate changes dating back over the last five years.

New 63-plate vehicles are being readied and manufacturer main dealers are bracing themselves for new vehicle deliveries that could see around 390,000 new cars on the road over the 30 days of September.

That means around £6 billion is expected to be spent on new cars as motorists take advantage of affordable finance deals and buy into better fuel efficiency, predictable maintenance and often lower tax bands.

“We have seen a strong performance from the new car market throughout 2013, with the number of cars registered increasing in July for the 17th successive month,” said Mike Baunton, SMMT Interim Chief Executive. “Now we have evidence of consistent growth, we have raised our forecast for 2013 new car registrations to 2.216 million units, an increase of over 8% on last year.  In line with this positive trend, we expect the new 63 plate to be very successful and for September registrations to provide a similar peak to that seen in March.”

March is typically the month for the highest number of registrations, with September coming a close second. More than a third of annual registrations occur in March and September combined, with the other months typically accounting for 6.5% of the annual total.

[toggle title_open=”Close” title_closed=”About the SMMT” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is one of the largest and most influential trade associations in the UK. It supports the interests of the UK automotive industry at home and abroad, promoting a united position to government, stakeholders and the media.

The automotive industry is a vital part of the UK economy accounting for £59 billion turnover and £12 billion value added. With more than 700,000 jobs dependent on the industry, it accounts for 10% of total UK exports and invests £1.7 billion each year in automotive R&D. The industry plays an important role in the UK’s trade balance, with vehicle manufacturers exporting around 80% of production. More than 30 manufacturers design, research, develop and engineer cars, commercial vehicles and engines in the UK, building in excess of 70 vehicle models across the country, supported by around 2,500 component providers and some of the world’s most skilled engineers.
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