Car Industry Faces Brexit Fears, But Leasing Remains Boyant

Car buyers turn to leasing as Brexit looms

New car buyers are turning to leasing their cars in growing numbers as Brexit closes in, as we reported record numbers for 2018 with a 58% increase over 2017 figures.

Figures released by the Society of Motoring Manufacturers and Traders show that new car sales were down 6.8% with diesels hit particularly hard with a 29.6% fall in sales in 2018.

Fears over the current Brexit situation are being partly blamed for the reduction in sales for the second consecutive year.

Despite the significant fall in new diesel car sales, our figures show that diesel leasing is actually up 13%, bucking the trend. New alternatively fuelled vehicle sales grew 20.9% according to the SMMT, however this was not enough to offset overall falling new car sales.

With nobody sure of the outcome should the UK ‘crash out’ of the European Union come 29^th March and with a deal still yet to be ratified in the government the likelihood of a no deal Brexit is growing. Now with rumours of a general election on the cards the public’s nervousness is justifiable.

We encourage buyers to visit our What is car leasing page for a full explanation of what car leasing is and how it differs from a conventional car buying experience.