Car makers and dealers are pre-registering high numbers of vehicles to overcome possible sales slowdown if the UK votes to leave Europe, says Rupert Pontin, Head of Valuations, Glass’s.
Reflecting on over 500,000 registrations in March, the highest since 1999, he said, “It is very interesting to see that new car registrations have seen another healthy increase of 5.3% on the same period last year bringing the YTD uplift to 5.1% against a Glass’s full year prediction of 3%.
“With anecdotal feedback from franchised dealers suggesting a double digit percentage of these are pre-registered vehicles, consideration must be given to the view that the manufacturers are working to bring volume forward to the first half of the year in a bid to avoid any stagnation in the market as a result of the EU referendum in June and subsequent possibility of a Brexit.
“It is also great to see that the volume of AFV’s is increasing rapidly as this is essential to help the UK market meet European emission commitments in the coming years. Actually reviewing what is being sold is very important, and it is vital to remember that this sector of the market will be further enhanced as EV technology is both fully understood by the customer and tested in the market. Range remains the key, specifically for all electric vehicles and with volumes ever increasing, development of used car customers will be critical.”
Key movers for the month by manufacturer are Infiniti up 156% on the same period last year which is no doubt as a result of the new Q30, Ssangyong at 115% as a result of the new Tivoli, Abarth at 105%, SMART at 88% with the revised range and Jaguar posting a 45% improvement due to the reasonably new XE.
Volkswagen group registrations seem to have stabilised as buyers become more confident in the brand once again, he added.
