Registrations of new cars in the UK rose about 13% to more than 90,000 in August, preliminary industry data shows.
If confirmed at 9am, when the final data is issued, that would be the highest number for an August in eight years.
The latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders is also expected to show that the market share of battery electric vehicles rose to about 30% in August.
Yesterday, data from New AutoMotive showed a 17.5% jump in overall new car registrations in August.
Elsewhere in the car sector, Volkswagen’s supervisory board has agreed to back a sweeping overhaul that will cut another 50,000 jobs and could lead to plant closures.
VW announced last night that “after intense and constructive discussions” the supervisory board had unanimously approved the comprehensive future plan 2030 drawn up by the chief executive, Oliver Blume.
The VW supervisory board includes employee and shareholder representatives, and it was not clear that they would approve Blume’s plans.
These cuts are on top of 50,000 already agreed, as VW battles with competition from China, weak sales in Europe and automobile tariffs set by Donald Trump.
After a week of bond market jitters, today there will be some fresh insight into central bankers’ thinking, and the health of the UK and US economies.
The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, is due to speak in London this morning – a day after his chief economist called for higher UK interest rates. Will Bailey – among the majority who voted to leave rates on hold in July – push back?
Opponents of rate rises point out they hurt growth, and won’t tackle the oil supply shock caused by the Iran war.
This afternoon the non-farm payroll will show how many jobs the US added last month. In July the NFP showed a shock fall in employment – economists expect a rebound in August, with forecasts for about 56,000 new jobs.
Today’s key events
• 9am BST: UN’s FAO food price index
• 9am BST: SMMT car sales
• 9.30am BST: UK construction PMI
• 9.30am BST: Bank of England’s monthly decision maker panel data - August
• 9.30am BST: economic activity and social change in the UK, real-time indicators
• 9.50am BST: Andrew Bailey gives keynote speech at LSE TRIUM anniversary conference, London
• 1.30pm BST: US non-farm payrolls jobs report
We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day on our business live blog …
