Car sales in the United Kingdom reached the lowest level since 1992 last year. The demand for new vehicles was under pressure from the coronacrisis and the ‘continuing Brexit uncertainties’, as was shown by data from trading organisation SMMT.

On a yearly basis, sales fell by 29 percent to 1.6 million vehicles. The turnover loss came to EUR 22.6 billion converted. According to SMMT, 2020 should be seen as a ‘lost year’ for the car industry.

Due to the pandemic, showrooms were closed most of the year. The organisation also claimed that uncertainty about future trade relations with the European Union had taken its toll since the Brexit. Also, the British decision not to allow new diesel and petrol cars to be sold was not good by 2030.

“With the roll-out of vaccines and the clarity of our new relationship with the EU, which was agreed shortly before Christmas, 2021 should be a year of recovery,” said SMMT CEO Mike Hawes.

He was also positive about manufacturers placing record numbers of electric vehicles on the market in the coming months. The strict UK measures to prevent the spread of the virus will still hinder the sale of cars in the first few months of the New Year.