LONDON: British new car sales crashed to the lowest level for almost three decades in 2020, with demand ravaged by chronic coronavirus fallout and Brexit uncertainty, industry data showed Wednesday.
Sales tanked by 29.4 percent compared with 2019 to 1.63 million new vehicles, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said in a statement. That was the lowest level since 1992.
The sector suffered a revenue loss of £20.4 billion ($27.7 billion, 22.6 billion euros), according to the industry organisation.
Sales took a hit late last year also after the British government said it planned to ban diesel and petrol car sales from 2030 as part of a plan to achieve carbon neutrality by the middle of the century.
“2020 will be seen as a lost year for automotive, with the sector under pandemic-enforced shutdown for much of the year and uncertainty over future (EU) trading conditions taking their toll,” said SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes.
“However, with the rollout of vaccines and clarity over our new relationship with the EU, we must make 2021 a year of recovery.”
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