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) revealed 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) meanwhile. “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,” SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes was quoted as saying. —AFP
