NEWS

CAR buyers are choosing smaller cars, due to economic and environmental pressures, plus scrappage incentives.
JATO Consult has clear evidence of the trend, following an extensive study into the market.
Car manufacturers are responding to such downsizing by offering higher-specification models, in order to retain profit margins for car dealers. Buyers switching from larger models are also [...]

FORD has posted its first year-on-year sales increase in almost a year, thanks to the scrappage scheme.
The long-awaited sales turnaround saw Ford dealers sell 29,8000 cars in June. In the same period back in 2008, they sold 28,657 motors.
As the overall new car market is down, this means Ford’s market share has rocketed to 16.9 [...]

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 see one.’
This means [...]

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 value end [...]

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 saw Hyundai push ahead [...]

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 is an achievement [...]

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 increase by [...]

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 countries.
Car [...]

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 retailing.
This [...]