Sarn Park Services are the best on the M4, according to accumulated views of users analysed by the Brindley motoring group. It studied over 100 motorway services on 29 routes and Tebay on the M6 came out best, Telford M54 was the worst while the M5 generally raised most complaints. UK car manufacturing fell 37.6% in July, the first fall since February, with just 53,438 units made, and worst in … [Read more...]
Used cars’ sales booming, says industry
The UK’s used car market grew 108.6% in the second quarter of 2021 according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Some 2,167,504 vehicles changed hands, up 6.6% on 2019 pre-pandemic levels, the best Q2 performance and almost the best quarter ever for the used car market. The increase tracks the country’s gradual emergence from lockdown, as businesses reopened, demand for personal … [Read more...]
Tesla top UK registrations as recovery continues
New car sales are recovering but more slowly than expected by car makers. The global shortage of micro-chips is affecting outputs from plants, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. June’s UK registrations of 186,128 new cars is 16.4% below the last decade’s average for the month and the second quarter’s total is still 9,000 units short of their expectations due to the chip … [Read more...]
Tradelines 30 June
Ford has expanded FORDLive connected uptime system to European fleet operators with the introduction of Ford Telematics Essentials – a complimentary new fleet management tool designed to help increase the productivity of connected commercial vehicles. Smart Maintenance alerts based on real-time vehicle health data help businesses to maximise uptime by reducing the number of breakdowns and … [Read more...]
Full throttle drive to boost evs and manufacturing jobs
Car makers have called for millions of new charging points to be installed in Britain and for Government help towards building enormous factories to manufacture traction batteries for new cars if the UK is to hit its low and zero emissions goals. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders ambitious plan, ‘Full Throttle: Driving UK Automotive Competitiveness’, is intended secure the future of … [Read more...]
Ford regain top place in Welsh car registrations
Wales's new car sales rose to 5,246 models last month, according to figures today from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Ford regained its lead in Wales after months of trailing rivals with significant registrations of the Puma SUV closely followed by Britain's most popular small car, the Fiesta. But only two registrations behind the Fiesta was the MG ZS and Volkswagen filled the … [Read more...]
Slow recovery in new car registrations
New car sales are slowly picking up after the first full month of showroom openings, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Registrations in May reached 156,737 units, an almost eightfold increase on the same month last year, but down -14.7% on pre-pandemic May 2019, and -13.2% on the 10-year May average. Against a more positive economic backdrop – including OECD forecasting a 7.2% … [Read more...]
Vehicle numbers fall in UK – but vans increase
Vehicle numbers on UK roads fell to 40,350,714 in 2020, according to Motorparc figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the first time the total number has fallen since the global financial crisis of 2009. As the pandemic stifled new vehicle uptake, the average age of cars on UK roads is now the highest on record at 8.4 years. Van uptake, however, has grown to the highest … [Read more...]
Tradelines 19 May
Businesses in and around Birmingham should consider replacing their fleet vehicles with cleaner, more efficient models as the city’s clean air zone (CAZ) comes into effect on 1 June 2021. Already identified as one of the top challenges facing fleets over the next five years, Birmingham headquartered ATS Euromaster says that with further cities due to add CAZs in 2021 and 2022, more fleets should … [Read more...]
Used car sales dented by disease controls
The UK’s used car market declined -8.9% in the first quarter of 2021 according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. With 1,687,755 transactions, the overall decline saw large falls in January and February of -27.1% and -19.4%, as lockdowns depressed demand and again closed showrooms. March saw the market show signs of recovery with a 32.2% year-on-year rise, amounting to … [Read more...]