As another lockdown leaves company car activity stalled in suspended animation, a new BVRLA report analyses the market and the long-term trends that will drive its destiny. With all but essential journeys banned and new car registrations slumping to a thirty-year low, the company car sector has entered 2021 as it spent much of 2020, in an artificial position. The BVRLA Company Car Report puts … [Read more...]
Learners and commuters boosting car sales
In what has been a turbulent time for the industry, car dealerships across the UK have been desperately trying to claw back car sales. To paint a statistical picture of the downfall, figures for new private car registrations dropped by 98.7% in April, the worst downturn in 70 years. Only 871 cars were registered, compared to 67,873 at the same time in 2019. As the clock moved forward to July, … [Read more...]
Suppliers optimism and caution for 2021
Parts suppliers have started 2021 with mixed feelings of optimism and caution. Optimism, because demand for vehicles and components is picking up more rapidly than expected and the appetite for new, innovative technologies is accelerating. Caution, because the scars from 2020 are deep and the level of uncertainty remains high. Thorsten Muschal (above), member of the management of … [Read more...]
BEVs boosted to over 200,000 on UK roads
It has been a landmark 12 months for electric cars, says the RAC. Despite the wider car industry suffering badly from the effects of the pandemic, 2020 was a landmark when it came to sales of battery electric vehicles with twice as many sold last year compared to the year before, and a total of more than 200,000 registered since 2010, shows analysis of SMMT figures by the RAC. December alone saw … [Read more...]
Vauxhall Corsa is most popular car in Wales
Welsh motorists drove off in 59,594 new cars last year, a 24.72% drop on 2019. It was the smallest decline of the home nations, which returned their worst total in 28 years and the steepest decline since WW2, said the SMMT. In the UK last year 1,627,124 new cars were registered and over 1.4 M of those were in England, but even so it saw the steepest drop in business with a decline of … [Read more...]
EVs on charge in collapsed UK market
The UK new car market fell almost a third last year with registrations dropping 29.4% to 1,631,064 units, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders today. A -10.9% decline in December wrapped up a turbulent year, which saw demand fall by 680,076 units over 12-months to the lowest level of registrations since 1992. Against a backdrop of Covid restrictions, an acceleration of … [Read more...]
Tradelines 6 January
Sales of electric cars have overtaken petrol and diesel in Norway. Tesla has also been knocked off the top spot by Volkswagen as BEVs collected 54.3% of registrations in 2020. As it eased into its second century, luxury Bentley sales soared to their highest ever despite the pandemic last year. The Crewe-based company saw 11,206 registrations around the world and the new Flying Spur was a major … [Read more...]
Brexit deal provides hope for automotive sector
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders want to ensure all automotive companies benefit from continued tariff-free trade with our largest market after agreeing on Brexit terms. While no substitute for the benefits provided by remaining in the EU, the TCA provides hope for the future, with a foundation on which to build, domestically and internationally, in 2021. Given the … [Read more...]
Newslines 22 December
The Welsh Government will allocate £20 Million next year for more cycleways. Its Active Travel investment is in addition to £274.7M for Transport for Wales rail and metro services. Public Health Wales said 352 cases of Covid-19 were identified at the DVLA centre at Swansea since September. Sixty-two cases have been identified at the call centre since the beginning of December … [Read more...]
SUV sales are stalling as hatchbacks & wagons pick up
November saw a double-digit year-on-year drop in European new car registrations as part of the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In November, the market registered 1,045,129 new cars – 13% less than for the same period in 2019 and it has recorded the lowest volume since 2014, when just 989,500 units were registered. Year-to-date figures continue to point to a concerning trend, with … [Read more...]