UK car industry demands Brexit clarity after biggest sales fall since 2009 - business live

Car sales slide: the details

The SMMT have just issued a press release, confirming that UK car sales declined in 2017.

Here are the key points:

• Overall annual demand falls -5.7% in 2017 – but new car market still third biggest in a decade at over 2.5 million vehicles.
• December represents the ninth consecutive month of decline, as registrations for final month of year drop -14.4%.
• Appetite for electrified cars reaches record high, with almost 120,000 alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) hitting UK roads – a 34.8% uplift.
• Diesel demand declines -17.1%, undermining progress on emissions and CO2 as industry body warns consumers could end up paying more in fuel if they travel high mileages.

There’s a couple of handy charts too:

 UK annual car sales since 2001 Photograph: SMMT

 The best-selling UK car models Photograph: SMMT

12m ago 09:18

In contrast to the UK, car sales in Germany actually rose last year.

Auto sales in Europe’s largest economy increased by 2.7% during 2017. However - as in Britain - diesel sales tumbled (by 13%).