September's new car registration figures, collated in association with Spyder Automotive, reveal the worst monthly decline in living memory. The market fell 88,995 units in September 2008 compared to September 2007.

The performance is far worse than previous record drop of 67,245 units between August 1989 and August 1990 (the registration plate used to change in August, but now changes in September). Looking at the types of car that have fared worse, it is clear that people are turning away from big cars with a vengeance. Sales of off roaders fell by 41% and luxury saloons by 43%. The only segment to increase sales was city cars, up by a remarkable 17%.

Segment	example model	2007 Sep		2008 Sep	change
City Car	Fiat 500	22729	26596		17.01%
Supermini	Vauxhall Corsa	128083	99247		-22.51%
Lower Medium	VW Golf	140141	108303		-22.72%
Upper Medium	Ford Mondeo	30568	24701		-19.19%
Compact Executive	BMW 3 Series	29496	24107		-18.27%
Executive	BMW 5 Series	12370	9957		-19.51%
Luxury	Mercedes S Class	1956	1119		-42.79%
Sports	Porsche Boxster	13183	10772		-18.29%
Off Road	Land Rover Freelander	35061	20694		-40.98%
MPV	Ford Galaxy	5642	4628		-17.97%
Total		419290	330295		-21.23%

Source: SMMT/Spyder Automotive