NEWS

FORD once again topped the sales charts for August, with the Fiesta taking its familiar number 1 position. This is despite August being the least popular month of the year to buy a new car in. SMMT stats show August usually only accounts for around 3 percent of UK new car sales, so the 55k [...]

SMMT data has revealed a huge 17.5% decline in registrations as dealers are hit by not having scrappage. 55,305 new cars were registered in August 2010. The SMMT says this compares poorly to 2009, where sales were incentivised by the scrappage scheme – but actually also mark a return to usual patterns seen prior to [...]

CAR owners face a £300 million hit in car repair costs as 1 million motors come out of their warranty period. A 2007 boom in new car sales – 2.4 million new cars were sold – means the 3 year warranty period will be ending for many. Warranty provider Warrantywise estimates these owners risk a [...]

SMMT latest figures show the number of cars built in the UK has suffered an 8.9 percent drop. This is the first fall since October 2009 and comes as European markets phase out scrappage incentive schemes. Exports for July were down over 10 percent, accounting for 73 percent of homegrown cars. UK car consumption was [...]

CHEVROLET was a surprise faller in official SMMT new car sales figures with a 66 percent decline. But MD Mark Terry has told Car Dealer Magazine it’s actually nothing to worry about – because the figures tell a misleading story. Terry told us that it’s actually because of Chevrolet’s new 5 Year Promise deal, which [...]

FORD has REGAINED its number one in the UK car sales chart, new figures from the SMMT confirm. According to figures released last week by the SMMT, Ford topped the July sales chart with 18,442 registrations and totaled 176,792 cars registered this year. July also showed the company increasing its retail car market share to [...]

SMMT July new car sales show a big FALL for the first time in a year with registrations down over 13 percent. Figures just released by the SMMT reveal the market declined 13.2 percent in July 2010 – although the year-to-date total is still up 15.1 percent. Further falls are expected over the rest of [...]

GREATER awareness of DAB digital radio is being called for by one leading trade association. The SMMT is urging digital radio broadcasters to improve their digital offerings and boost consumer awareness of the benefits of DAB radio. The move comes after JATO released figures revealing that the number of cars fitted with digital radio as [...]

GREEN car gains in the short and medium term will mainly be driven by current engine tech say experts. Dave Greenwood, project director at Ricardo UK, said it would be several decades before EV and fuel cell technology made significant impacts on overall transport CO2 emissions. ’90 percent of the CO2 reduction in the next [...]

FORD has revealed it cut short-cycle rental business in June in order to improve the brand’s residual values. This tallies with the consolidation of Ford sales, that has seen the previous best-selling Fiesta slip to third place in the UK sales charts. However, thanks to early-year success, the Fiesta remains the UK’s best seller year-to-date, [...]

JAGUAR has taken overall luxury car sector honours in its first full month of retailing the new XJ at car dealers. By close of play last month, it had outsold the Mercedes S-Class by 38 percent. Even more impressively, sales were 70 percent ahead of the BMW 7 Series! It equates to 295 Jaguar XJ [...]

FLEET sales are indeed seeing big rises, say industry experts epyx, confirming sales analysis stats published by the SMMT. However, dealers should be warned the business of company car sales is highly erratic on a day to day basis. Orders are up 50 percent on last year, said head of business development Ken Trinder. That’s [...]

FORD has finally been knocked off its top UK new car sales slot in June 2010 – by its arch-rival, Vauxhall. The new Astra was the best-seller for the month, with 10,525 sales meaning it was also the only car to sell a five-figure volume. The Fiesta has actually slipped to THIRD place, some way [...]

WHEN is a negative sales figure a positive news story? When you’re Kia, that’s when! Let us explain.. In the SMMT sales figures this month Kia has posted registrations down 16 per cent on June 2009. But there’s an interesting story behind those numbers. Kia sales director Yaser Shabsogh called Car Dealer Magazine this week [...]

SMMT figures for June show new car registrations were up 10.8 percent despite the end of the scrappage scheme. These figures continue to be ahead of SMMT expectations, says the UK car trade body. It means new car registrations remain up by nearly 20 percent in the first half of 2010 – which, says the [...]

TATA Motors boss Carl-Peter Forster has indicated Jaguar Land Rover models WILL be produced outside the UK. This will most likely involve the setting up of production plants in India or China, for local market consumption. Speaking at the SMMT International Automotive Summit, he said that to grow beyond a certain point in China, the [...]

VINCE Cable has told the UK automotive industry that it is the ‘hinge’ to economic strength in the country. But the industry should not expect a continuation of short-term subsidies such as scrappage. Addressing delegates at the SMMT International Automotive Summit, he said ‘it is becoming clear Government success depends on the automotive industry.’ It [...]

SMMT chiefs say the motor trade is hoping for an Emergency Budget that does not risk economic recovery. Next week’s Budget must deliver stability and certainty on motoring taxes and show a collaborative approach to sustainable growth. SMMT head Paul Everitt admits tough times are ahead – but says the automotive industry has huge potential [...]

SMMT figures show May new car sales rose by 13.5 percent but the SMMT expects the market to now start declining. The May rise is the 11th successive one and saw the Ford Focus displace the Fiesta as the UK’s top car. However, now the scrappage boost has ended, the SMMT is predicting a modest [...]

THE SMMT hosts its annual test day every year at Bedfordshire’s Millbrook in May – and, once again, yours truly attended! It comprises of major manufacturers brining their model range to Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedford and letting all of us journalists drive them on closed circuits and on the open road!! Sound like fun? [...]