We’d like to take a moment to remember the approx 2.3 million cars NOT sold in the UK over the last 3 years.
At average prices in each respective year, that’s an economic loss to the economy of circa £91bn and means that HM Treasury didn’t collect around £15bn in VAT.
The graph above looks at average registrations for the last 21 years, and how these have fallen from 2020 due to Covid, supply chain shortages, etc. The figure for 2022 is our estimate based on registrations in the first six months, and if accurate, this will be the worst since the early 1990’s.
Of course, for every car not sold there’s probably a much older car that’s soldiering on. The average age of the 33m cars in the UK is now just under 9 years old, and we expect both these numbers to increase.
The UK car market is worth billions and employs around 860,000 people directly or indirectly. This collapse might not be mourned by all, but sooner or later the financial implications will be felt everywhere….