NEWS

SMMT support has been granted to the BIS managed rundown of the scrappage scheme which starts today. ‘It ensures the fairest means of distributing the remaining scrappage funding,’ sys the car industry body. ‘The quota system will ensure an orderly end to the scheme with buyers and manufacturers both having a clear understanding of available [...]

NEW car sales for January rose by almost 30 percent with 145,479 new motors sold by car dealers. SMMT official have confirmed this is the 7th successive month of new car sales rises. This rise has come despite the introduction of the new 17.5 percent VAT rate – suggesting that the UK new car market [...]

FORD once again took the top 2 sales slots in the UK new car sales chart with the Fiesta top dog. It was followed up by the Ford Focus, continuing a Ford 1-2 trend. Other brands had reason to celebrate too, though. Hyundai came in 8th with its scrappage-smash-hit i10, while the Audi A3 was [...]

BUSINESS minister Ian Lucas MP has acknowledged car industry success with the latest UK production boost. ‘The automotive industry has had a difficult year, but industry and Government have taken action to help manage the challenges.’ The results of this can be seen in December’s rise in UK car production, offsetting a yearly total decline [...]

UK car production leapt nearly 60 percent in December – the biggest rise recorded since May 1976. Latest figures from the SMMT show that, last month, 85,316 cars were built in the UK. This takes the full-year total to 999,460. Yes, just a smidgen below the 1 million mark. Alas, this is still nearly 31 [...]

THE SMMT says the scrappage scheme has now notched up nearly 290,000 sales  – but has momentum dwindled? With new car prices rising across the board in recent months and VAT back up to 17.5 per cent, enthusiasm for the scheme with consumers maybe over. Back in October the industry feared the original £300m would [...]

FORD continues to dominate new car sales in the UK by once again topping the SMMT best seller list. The 2009 performance makes it the 33rd successive year Ford has been Britain’s number 1. 1 in 6 new cars sold last year was a Ford, giving the blue oval 17 percent of the market. Indeed, [...]

LAND Rover staged a staggering recovery during 2009, with total year sales up 93 percent on 2008. The firm reports sales have been consistently on the up for the past 4 months now. Individual model improvements were even more impressive. The Discovery 4 went up by 115 percent, and the Range Rover Sport was up [...]

FORD Fiesta buyers have voted the supermini best car of 2009 by buying it in greater numbers than any other new car. SMMT figures show the Fiesta is way ahead of the rest, with 117,296 sales. Bosses at Ford are celebrating further too, as the Focus came out in 2nd place overall in the new [...]

NEW car sales finished 2009 down 6.4 per cent – but in December sales were up 38.9 per cent. The figures are a big advance on the worst-case scenario estimates by some at the start of the year. Totals as low as 1.6 million were spoken of by some – so the SMMT is relatively [...]

SMMT figures show a big rise in UK car production with the number of cars built here last month rising by 15.7 percent. Boss Paul Everitt said November production saw the FIRST increase since September 2008. This is a reflection of the ‘positive impact of scrappage schemes and economic stability in a number of major [...]

SMMT chief Paul Everett has welcomed the Chancellor’s support of new eco car technology. However, he is now seeking clarity on ‘unclear’ details in the rest of the Pre-Budget Report. ‘2010 is set to be another extremely difficult year for the UK motor industry, as increased VAT and first year VED rates directly impact on [...]

SCRAPPAGE registrations have smashed the quarter-million mark after snaring a fifth of November sales. 21.6 percent of motors registered in November were under the scrappage scheme. This means the impact of it remains huge, said SMMT chief Paul Everitt. ‘Scrappage continues to have a positive impact on vehicle registrations, contributing to the 57.6 percent increase [...]

THE motor industry has handed Alistair Darling a letter outlining its concerns ahead of his Pre-Budget Report. The move by the SMMT – ahead of the report on Wednesday – urges the chancellor to continue Government support to ‘safeguard the motor industry recovery’. In the letter, SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt explains maintaining demand for [...]

FORD once again topped the November new car sales chart with the Fiesta easily beating the next-best. Which, as luck would have it, was also a Ford – the Focus! The November performance marks the 9th month in 2009 that the Fiesta has topped the charts. Total Fiesta sales stand at 109,420. Again, the Focus [...]

VOLVO says it will become the first premium brand to sell more new cars in 2009 than it did last year. New car sales to date stand at 31,393… with 2008’s year-long total of 31,655 in clear sight! This will also see the brand exceed its Q4 sales target of selling more than 10,000 cars… [...]

SMMT figures show November car registrations were up 57.6 percent on 2008 levels – in line with 2007 sales. This has led SMMT chief Paul Everitt to predict the market will exceed 1.975 million units. Could the 2009 UK new car market thus defy all odds and hit the magic 2 million mark? So far, [...]

SELF regulation must be accepted by car garages if it is to avoid costly legislation laid down by Government. This was the theme of discussions in Parliament yesterday, as the self-regulation debate was put before the All-Party Parliamentary Motor Group. Motor Codes director (and Car Dealer Magazine columnist) Chris Mason made a compelling case for [...]

SMMT president Joe Greenwell was chief speaker to 800 guests at the recent SMMT Annual Dinner. He spoke of an extraordinary year. Despite the recession, he said, much has been learned. The industry has collaborated successfully to get wide-ranging support. The best example of this is the scrappage scheme, which has been a resounding success [...]

CAR production in the UK has continued to improve thanks to the ongoing sales-driving boost from scrappage. The year-on-year decline remains down, but by the smallest rate of the year. Year-to-date, car production is down 38 percent – but for the month of October, this figure was cut to just a 6.7 percent decline. However, [...]