Lack of chips to further hit UK car market in 2022 - industry group

FILE PHOTO: Parked cars are seen at the Vauxhall plant as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Ellesmere Port, Britain March 16, 2020. REUTERS/Phil Noble

LONDON (Reuters) - The global semiconductor chip shortage will continue to hurt British car sales throughout this year and into 2023 after making a serious dent in vehicle supply in 2021, an industry group said on Thursday.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said around one in six new cars sold in Britain in 2021 was either battery electric (BEV) or a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and overall new car registrations inched up around 1 percentage point to 1.65 million units versus 1.63 million in 2020.