May van registration figures ‘clear indicator’ of growing economic confidence
Commenting on the SMMT’s figures for LCV registrations in May, Sue Robinson, Chief Executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) said: “It is extremely positive to see that light commercial vehicle registrations continued their upward trend with record sales in May, as increased confidence in the sector continues post lockdown.”
Continue Reading
‘Great relief’ but recovery ‘might be slower’ than expected – analysts on car sales
Car registration figures may offer some relief for the embattled sector, but analysts have warned the recovery might be slower than first hoped. Andrew Burn, managing director and head of automotive at Interpath Advisory (formerly KPMG Restructuring), said of the May SMMT registration figures: “The latest registration figures will come as great relief to the sector given the tumultuous challenges it is grappling with. The numbers reflect the first full month of showroom openings, with volumes back to circa 2012 levels. The question now is where volumes will settle once we have moved beyond the pandemic and the new norms are established.
Continue Reading Car registrations ‘incredibly encouraging’ comments Carwow
Sepi Arani, director of OEM at the UK’s largest new car marketplace and comparison site www.carwow.co.uk, gives his thoughts on the May SMMT car registration figures and the EV takeover: “Its incredibly encouraging to see new car registrations on the rise and with EV’s taking a 13.8 per cent share of the registrations in 2021 so far, despite the naysayers, EV adoption is happening faster than many give credit for.
Continue Reading
Cautious recovery in new car registrations during May
With the year’s first full month of showroom openings, new car registrations in May reached 156,737 units, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The total represents an almost eightfold increase on the same month last year, but is down -14.7 per cent on pre-pandemic May 2019, and -13.2 per cent on the 10-year May average.
Continue Reading
Kerr’s Tyres joins the top 25 UK tyre retailers
Following the publication of our run-down of the top 10 UK tyre retails on Wednesday and then our overview of positions 11 to 20 yesterday, today’s concluding part of our 2021 tyre retail landscape series takes a closer look at positions 21 to 25 on the leader board, culminating in the addition of new entry Kerr’s Tyres in 25th place.
Continue Reading
Autocentres growing in prominence – UK’s top tyre retailers 2021 (11-20)
As can be seen in the top 10 table published yesterday, Halfords Autocentres remains in second place nationally in our 2021 ranking of the UK’s largest retail operations by branch count. Continuing our three-article series on this subject, today’s instalment focuses on places 11 to 20 and finds that the medium to large sized positions are increasingly being taken by autocentre style businesses that make as much money from parts and repairs as they do from tyres (and more than traditional fast fits).
Continue Reading
The top 10 UK tyre retail chains 2021
With a pandemic, an MOT extension and three lockdowns to contend with, describing the last year as “difficult” would be an understatement. Nevertheless, tyre retailers have demonstrated that they are not only key workers essential to keeping the British Isles rolling, but also versatile and resilient businesspeople during the last 12 months. A quick look at the top 25 UK tyre retail chains 2021 table reveals that it has been a more eventful year than normal in terms of branch openings and closings, but overall the clear message is one of consolidation. As a result, the top 25 UK tyre retail chains wield more power than ever. Specifically, the top 25 now run 2528 branches between them. When our coverage of this area began back at the end of the 2008/2009 tax year, the figure was 1978. During the interim, the rough estimate for the total number of tyre retailers national has stayed stable at around 10,000 specialists (that number is roughly double that if you include general garages). This means the top 25 occupy roughly 25 per cent of the number of branches, up 6 percentage points since 2009.
Continue Reading
15 European Countries Had Highest Share of EVs in New Car Sales in 2020
European nations are leading the way in new Electric Vehicle (EV) sales despite the emergence of Mainland China as the biggest market for EVs. According to data presented by TradingPlatforms.com, 15 European countries had the highest share of plug-in EVs in new passenger car sales in 2020 - Norway had the highest at 75 per cent.
Continue Reading
New van market records highest-ever April registrations
The light commercial vehicle market recorded its busiest ever April as 30,440 new vans were registered, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). All vehicle segments saw artificially inflated growth rates relative to April 2020, when Covid restrictions shut down much of the economy, with an eight-fold increase in total units. Registrations were also well ahead of the five-year average, with April 2021 up by 23.2 per cent. With some 127,796 vans registered so far in 2021, uptake levels have returned to levels last seen in 2019.
Continue Reading
Showroom reopenings offer glimmer of hope in April new car registrations
April saw an artificial 30-fold increase of UK new car registrations compared to the same month last year, but volumes still remained -12.9 per cent lower than the 10-year average at just 141,583 new units, according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). This year’s monthly total dwarfed that recorded in April 2020, when the first national lockdown effectively shut the country, and just 4,321 cars were registered.
Continue Reading Demand for used hybrids increasing, says BuyaCar.co.uk
Surging demand for new hybrid cars is also being reflected in the used market, with the online car supermarket BuyaCar.co.uk reporting its highest-ever proportion of hybrid customers. But a gap is emerging between brands when it comes to the popularity of hybrid as a consumer choice over diesel or petrol, BuyaCar analysts say.
Continue Reading
Two reasons European drivers choose all-season tyres – Nokian survey
More than half of European drivers with all-season tyres choose them for their convenience as all-season tyres do not need to be changed twice a year. Another reason, according to the survey conducted by Nokian Tyres in the past year, is the safety aspect. 50 per cent believe that all-season tyres are safe enough to use throughout the whole year in central Europe and they meet all the regulatory requirements for winter tyres. The survey was conducted in four countries: Germany, France, Italy and Poland. The new Nokian Seasonproof all-season tyre is designed for drivers who need reliability and first-class safety for snowy and slushy winter days but who also want top-notch performance and effortless driving feel in the summer. Read our sister site WhatTyres most recommended all-season tyres for 2021, the winner of the inaugural WhatTyre All-Season Tyre of the Year, and why an all-season tyre was WhatTyres pick for the overall 2021 Tyre of the Year.
Continue Reading EVs finally beginning to fulfil prophecies in 2020 – GlobalData
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic causing a decline in the global auto industry, sales of electric vehicles (EVs) grew 40.9 per cent year-on-year (YOY) and accounted for 4 per cent of car sales in 2020, according to data and analytics company GlobalData.
Continue Reading
March LCV sales up 85.5 per cent, but still below industry expectations
SMMT figures show that the new light commercial vehicle market grew by 85.5 per cent in March with 56,122 vans joining UK roads with the ’21 new number plate. Usually one of the busiest months of the year, March saw the largest-ever increase since the switch to the two plate system in 1999, but one which still represented an -10.9 per cent decrease when compared to the pre-pandemic 2015-2019 average, as prolonged nationwide lockdown continued to suppress business confidence in the first quarter of the year.
Continue Reading
Fleet sales mean March new car sales up 11.5 per cent YOY
The car registration data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) for the month of March shows that the UK new car market recorded its first ‘growth’ since August 2020, with 29,280 more units registered during March compared to the same month last year. However, the month represents the anniversary of the first lockdown in March 2020, when the pandemic brought Britain to a standstill and registrations fell by -44.4 per cent.
Continue Reading
