Most British motorists fear Brexit will see new car prices increase
Research suggests 57 per cent of UK drivers think Britain leaving the EU will raise prices
More than half of British motorists reckon that Brexit will cause the price of new cars to increase.
In research conducted on behalf of Kwik Fit, 57 per cent of the 2,043 UK adults quizzed said they expected Britain’s decision to leave the EU to send new car prices upwards.
However, only 17 per cent of people expected prices to go up “significantly”, while just three per cent thought prices would go down.
There was similar scepticism surrounding the general cost of motoring, with 53 per cent foreseeing a hike in the cost of petrol and 51 per cent expecting replacement part costs to increase.
Roger Griggs, communications director at Kwik Fit, said: “The cost of motoring is understandably a major concern for people as the country prepares to leave the European Union and this perhaps is one reason for last month’s fall in new car sales.”
New car registrations for May were down 8.5 per cent compared with last year, with diesel taking the biggest hit as continuing bad press has turned buyers away.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of car industry trade body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said at the time that the recent change to vehicle excise duty and upcoming general election had made buyers more cautious.
