This year, EU car sales will stagnate at 2018 levels in terms of units sold, staying close to the 15 million new registrations mark recorded last year, according to new forecasts by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. Although 2018 was the fifth consecutive year of growth, the pace of growth has slowed down significantly over the last few years, amounting to a slight increase … [Read more...]
Retail News
Love your garage and rate their performance
If you love the services of your garage, the industry want to know about it. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, a time when many express their affection for one another, The Motor Ombudsman is also encouraging consumers to share their feelings on any accredited businesses that they have used to either buy a new or used vehicle, or to have their car serviced or repaired. Using the Code … [Read more...]
MoT test widens to more vehicles from 20 May
More agricultural, delivery, recovery and construction vehicles are now liable to the annual safety test. The DVSA is introducing annual testing for some when their current tax is renewable but others must have a test done by 20 May 2019. Vehicles now needing a test certificate include: mobile cranes breakdown vehicles (not breakdown vans) tower wagons some mobile engineering … [Read more...]
Latest data reveals reasons motorists sell their cars.
Almost one in 10 motorists aged between 45 and 54 believe that they no longer need a car according to automotive data experts, HPI. They say this age group cited no longer needing a car as one of the main reasons for selling a vehicle and over a third (39%) of 18-24-year-old drivers sell their car because they’ve grown bored of it and want something more exciting to replace it while only 13% of … [Read more...]
JLR sustains big losses in three months
Massive losses have been recorded by JLR. It has reported a £3.4B quarterly loss after writing down the value of its cars and plants. Last month it announced a 10% cut in its 42,500 employees, mostly in the UK. It is the third consecutive quarterly loss after it was hit by U.S.-China trade tensions, low demand for diesel cars in Europe and Brexit concerns and some of the automaker's newest … [Read more...]
Nathaniel tops MG charts
Welsh MG dealer Nathaniel Cars, Bridgend topped the marque’s UK awards. It was judged the Dealer of the Year 2018 and also picked up the prize for best technical management team. The national dealership network was also given a preview of the forthcoming MG ZS EV and told of a new service plan for existing MG owners. … [Read more...]
Auto-businesses growing despite scares
More automotive businesses have reported turnover growth than any other sector, according to a new Business Census of business leaders’ expectations for the year ahead. The survey, conducted by global credit company Creditsafe and completed by 755 business leaders, revealed that 92% of surveyed automotive businesses grew in terms of turnover in 2018. Speaking of the results, Creditsafe’s UK … [Read more...]
Tradelines 6 February
A survey by Venson Automotive Solutions reveals that one in three (33%) company car drivers would not report minor damage to their employer – a figure which has almost doubled since 2015 when the same question was asked of company car drivers (17.5%). Overall drivers do appear to be very slightly more involved today than they were 3 years ago in keeping their car in good running condition; 57% … [Read more...]
Welsh sales steady as diesel cars ground and AFVs take off
Sales of hybrid and electric cars soared over 26% last month and slowed the fall in registrations of recent months, according to figures from the car makers. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders say registrations were only 1.6% down in January at 161,013 new cars, with private buyers leading the way as business and fleet models continued to fall. In Wales, registrations were almost … [Read more...]
Newslines 5 February
The new 2019 Mitsubishi Mirage is available to UK customers from £11,295. A new entry level Mirage 3 is available with a manual transmission and is £1,005 less than the outgoing Juro model and they have a 3 cylinder 1.2-litre MIVEC engine, 80hp and 106Nm torque and emit 107g/km CO2. Two plug-in versions of the new BMW 7-Series will arrive in Spring. In-line 6-cylinder petrol engine and … [Read more...]