NEWS

CAR dealers have been buoyed by the latest SMMT new car sales figures – but are wary of getting carried away. Marshall chief executive Daksh Gupta said everyone was ‘delighted to be hearing some positive news being reported about our industry. ‘However, we must remember that we are now comparing sales against the period in [...]

MITSUBISHI is delighted with its July sales performance – which has come WITHOUT scrappage aid! The firm grew its market share from 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent in July. This 53 percent boost means it comes in 9th in the overall market share improvement league table. ‘But, if you take out scrappage sales,’ a spokesman [...]

DEALDRIVERS.CO.UK says that the small car market is currently taking over 7 in 10 scrappage sales. But it’s the rest of the key scrappage sellers that prove even more intriguing! Director from the car broker firm, Jo Eveleigh, told Car Dealer Magazine that there were some cars that were, unsurprisingly, in particular demand: •    Ford [...]

FORD sold 26 percent more Fiestas in July – and, again, it’s scrappage that’s to thank for the increase. 44 percent of Fiesta sales have now come under the scrappage scheme – from a total of nearly 4000 scrappage Ford sales in July. So far, the brand has recorded 16,500 new car scrap scheme registrations. [...]

SMMT figures show that car sales rose for the first time in 15 MONTHS in July – thanks to scrappage. 157,149 cars were sold in the month, which represents a 2.4 percent growth in the month. This is thanks to the boost from the scrappage scheme, which has brought private buyers into car dealer showrooms [...]

HYUNDAI’S sales drive continues – with an unprecedented top-10 position in the SMMT sales charts. Even better, take out fleet and business sales, and Hyundai is actually NUMBER 2 in private sales! This, naturally, has delighted the firm’s MD, Tony Whitehorn. ‘July 2009 marked a real milestone for Hyundai. ‘Our long-term plan was always to [...]

CAR dealers are now feeling the positive benefits of the new car scrappage scheme, reports the RMIF. Director Sue Robinson said that there were ‘thousands of cars bought by consumers via the scheme now on the road.’ In saying scrappage is responsible for the positive boost, Robinson is confirming the views of many in the [...]

HYUNDAI has won an unprecedented top-10 sales slot, thanks to the boost from the scrappage scheme. Just-released SMMT figures for July show that the Korean brand sold 3084 i10s in July. This gave it a remarkable top-9 position in the sales league! Overall, sales rose for the first time in 15 MONTHS, in a positive [...]

SSANGYONG has recorded its fourth double-take sales increase in a row – with a 167 percent sales boost for July. OK, that’s on sales of 99 models in July, rather than 33 last year. But it is still proof of the gradual recovery the rejuvenated Korean car maker is seeing in the UK, after boss [...]

USED car retailers can now access fuel economy and running cost info on stock dating back to 2001. This can be used to display new car-style fuel economy labels, to support a scheme being launched to car buyers in November this year. The scheme is to run alongside the well-recognised new car eco green label, [...]

GOVERNMENT plans to investigate motoring tax and charges have been welcomed by industry body the SMMT. Ministers have stipulated that any future environmental taxes must be both clear and consistent – something warmly welcomed by the car makers. In eight years, says the SMMT, cars reduced CO2 emissions by 20 percent. In the future, CO2 [...]

EU ministers have announced the current Block Exemption Regulation should be extended until 2013. The current deal runs out in May next year. But, so pleased is the EU with how things are running at the moment, it sees no need to change anything surrounding the sale of new cars. Levels of car dealer competition, [...]

SMMT chief Paul Everitt has echoed MP’s findings of ‘serious concerns’ over the car industry aid programme. £2.3bn in loans and loan guarantees for the car industry was pledged back in January. However, six months on, NO car companies have received any cash from the Automotive Assistance Programme scheme. This, says the SMMT, is because [...]

MOTOR industry expert Nice 1 Ltd has analysed the latest scrappage data – and given its judgment. The firm reveals the UK’s top 10 selling brands have accounted for 86 percent of all scrappage sales so far. There have been, to the end of June, 29,796 scrappage deals – that’s 3.22 percent of UK sales to [...]

NEW car sales charts for June show some big winners and losers, within a market down 15 percent. Most eye-opening revelation is that both Hyundai and Kia have chalked up massive sales increases! Hyundai is up a mighty 91 percent, with Kia also booming through a 60 percent rise. Even bigger gains are recorded from [...]

SCRAPPAGE is still some way off revealing its true positive boost to new car sales, say car dealers. The RMI reports that the SMMT sales figures for June are positive – but car dealers can expect even more gains in coming months. ‘The true impact of the vehicle scrappage scheme will be felt over the [...]

SCRAPPAGE is easing declining new car sales, with June recording the smallest fall since July 2008. The SMMT’s latest new car sales figures show that registrations were down 15.7 percent in June. 176,264 new cars were sold, with Ford’s Fiesta topping the pile. After year-on-year declines of nearly 25 percent in May, this shows the [...]

DIGITAL Britain has recommended that all new cars are fitted with DAB radios by 2013. The SMMT has welcomed this report from the Government working group – but feels the timing is ambitious. There are 32 million cars on UK roads, and only a tiny percentage are fitted with DAB digital radios. Convertor devices are [...]

CAR production in the UK remained massively down in May, with a 43 percent drop in motors built in Britain. However, says the SMMT, this is actually the smallest drop of the year. They are ‘positive signs’, says the car industry body – and it’s down to the successful scrappage scheme encouraging manufacturers such as [...]

SSANGYONG has reported its second successive month of sales growth, following strong demand. A 42 percent year-on-year increase was revealed by the latest SMMT sales figures. This is despite ongoing concerns over the company’s future in South Korean courts – clearly, the latest upturn in fortunes has encouraged UK car buyers. It’s not even scrappage [...]