NEWS

EUROPEAN new car sales figures for May have been released – and show tentative signs of recovery. While the new car market is down 13.1 percent year-to-date, this is a 2.4 percent improvement on declines the previous month. It is scrappage that is being thanked for this. Germany was up nearly 40 percent in May [...]

OFFICIAL sales figures today show the big positive effect scrappage is having on new car sales. More than 60,000 orders have been placed so far – despite the scheme being ‘live’ for less than a month. ‘These figures speak for themselves,’ business secretary Lord Mandelson told the BBC. ‘Consumers know a good deal when they [...]

ALFA Romeo UP 42%. Chrysler DOWN 82%. SsangYong UP 42%. Renault DOWN 64%. They’re not the only ones. May’s latest new car sales figures from the SMMT show a real changing of the guard is under way… Only 7 brands increased sales during May – and, other than Alfa Romeo, they were all from the [...]

HYUNDAI has won record-breaking market share in May, with ‘unprecedented’ levels of demand. So many customers want to buy new models from Hyundai car dealers, the import centre has imposed 24-hour working! This comes as orders at Hyundai car dealers rocketed a staggering 750 percent over target. That is not a typo: 750%! May’s sales [...]

CHEVROLET sold 1589 cars in May – its best figure since the brand was launched nearly 5 years ago. This equals to a market share of 1.18 percent. Which is up 40 percent on May 2008! ‘Fabulous news,’ said UK MD Mark Terry. ‘To buck the overall trend of the new car market at all [...]

VOLKSWAGEN’S new Golf 6 hatch has stolen the European best-seller crown back from the Ford Fiesta. And it’s a double win for Volkswagen. The brand is also Europe’s best-seller overall, too. Ford didn’t cede the title without a fight, though. Year to date sales are up nearly 20 percent, and an exceptional April saw them [...]

SCRAP scheme incentives are continuing to encourage German buyers into new car dealer showrooms. The latest sales figures show that there was a boost of almost a fifth in April, compared to the same period in 2008. This is down from a 40 percent rise in March, but is still much better than other EU [...]

FORD’S Fiesta has just taken the overall European sales number one slot from the Volkswagen Golf. A massive March sales increase of over 15 per cent has seen the Ford supermini conquer in an otherwise depressed market. First quarter European sales are down by 16.9 percent, reports JATO Dynamics, as the recession bites further into [...]

CAR supermarket Motorpoint has just posted a big monthly car sales rise of nearly 10 percent. The March sales increase of 9.95 percent is a welcome bright spot for the car industry – and proves that there are still car buyers out there. It is ‘substantial discounts’ that has driven the sales increase, says the [...]

GROWING market share is a priority for car makers, in the face of slowing sales – and none has more than Ford. The blue oval’s market leading position GREW in March, too, as the company extended its total UK market share to 16.7 per cent. This is up from 15 per cent in March 2008. [...]

1LINK Disposal Network has been further boosted by the addition of three major fleet companies. CLM Fleet Management, Inchcape Fleet Solutions and Volkswagen Financial Services have all signed up this month, vastly increasing the sales platform’s reach. It allows all the major fleets to deal their old stock directly to car dealers. Owners epyx are [...]

It’s not only used car prices on the up – BCA reports that the van market is enjoying similar gains to the used car market. Values in February rose by nearly £200 – an increase of 6.6 percent. Overall, this means used LCVs today are worth over 12 percent more than they were in December. [...]

SALES can be won by car dealers using retailer finance schemes to adapt to individual customers. SEAT MD Peter Wyhinny told Car Dealer Magazine that the strong liquidity of car maker finance divisions means big gains are there to be had. ‘We can be completely adaptable to a customers’ individual needs, in a way that [...]

CITROEN’S brand rejuvenation is continuing, as the maker launches a new initiative for used car sales. Following on from its recent new car rejig, the same overhaul is being applied to the used car network, under the Citroen Select banner. This, says the company, will boost used car sales for car dealers. The aim is [...]