A new survey of UK car dealers by Close Brothers Motor Finance has found that a third (34%) believe that half of cars will be ultra-low emission by 2030, meaning the Government’s ‘Road to Zero’ strategy will be successful. A quarter (25%) aren’t sure, whilst 41% believe the 2030 deadline won’t be hit.The finding comes amid a raft of positive news in 2019 surrounding alternative fuel vehicles, … [Read more...]
Used cars sales rebound
The SMMT said used car sales rose 0.9% in Q3 after nine quarters of decline. Some 2,076,382 transactions took place between July and September, 18,925 more than the same period in 2018. Demand for diesel models was up 1.4% in the quarter with 858,442 changing hands, while petrol sales were flat with a slight drop of -0.2%. Plug-in electric and hybrid models showed a solid increase of 13.0%, … [Read more...]
Autonomous driving interest accelerates
Three in ten drivers (31%) now favour self-driving cars, up from one in ten (10%) a year ago, they told pollsters for the Britain Under the Bonnet report from Close Brothers Motor Finance. At a time when Government has recently announced plans for driverless cars to be on UK roads as early as 2021, the latest figures show how perceptions are changing and trends are beginning to … [Read more...]
Car production & investment sharply down – SMMT
British car production fell by 9 percent last year - the most since the recession ten years ago. Analysis by the SMMT suggests investment slumped by nearly half due to fears about Brexit, said the SMMT. Volumes have also been hit by a crackdown on diesel, tougher emissions rules disrupting new vehicle supply and a slowdown in China, the world’s no. 1 autos market. Last year saw the fall … [Read more...]
Ford are most financed used cars, says lender
The Ford Fiesta has topped the list of cars financed in the UK, according to data from Close Brothers Motor Finance. The firm family favourite is followed by the Ford Focus and the Volkswagen Golf. More than 2.2 million new cars have been sold in the UK so far this year, and there have been more than 6 million used car transactions. Consumers have never had so much choice, and the … [Read more...]
Green motoring gets red card from drivers
Almost three quarters (71%) of UK motorists say affordability is a main consideration when purchasing a new vehicle, according to the Britain Under the Bonnet report from Close Brothers Motor Finance. A further 56% care about how economical a vehicle is to run, showing additional interest in cost. Other key attributes include fuel type (55%), engine size (49%), and number of doors … [Read more...]
Welsh motorists tailing UK buying average
Just over a third of Welsh drivers would consider buying a new car, some way behind the national average. They are also less likely to look at a second hand car than the average and more likely to put up with their present model. But the gap is narrowing and with sales incentives in showrooms the car sales market is hotting up between new and used. In Wales, 43% said they would consider … [Read more...]
August registrations soar in face of new cars ban
New car registrations in Britain soared last month on the eve of an EU change in law which would ban models not meeting the tougher WLTP emissions test. Thousands of models across Europe were heavily discounted by dealers backed by car makers anxious to clear unsold stock of the NEDC tested models. This push and the fact some car makers are struggling to build cars which fully meet the WLTP … [Read more...]
‘Grey sales’ are bringing colour to UK market
New car registrations are booming but there are doubts over who is actually making sales. The SMMT said yesterday that 2,685,724 new cars were registered last year, a 2.3% increase on the year beforehand and fifth year of growth. But the registrations in Wales, the only part of the country to see a fall, dipped 1.4% to 91,940. That could be due to the fact that few companies are … [Read more...]