UK drivers increasingly buying cars online
UK motorists are some of the fastest adopters of online car buying, something that is rapidly becoming the new normal in Britain, Germany and Spain, according to research conducted by online car retailer carwow. A survey of over 1000 consumers who bought a car through carwow since dealerships were allowed to reopen found 54 per cent of recent the company’s customers in the UK said they would continue to do the bulk of their car buying online from now on. In Spain it was 45 per cent and it was 38 per cent in Germany.
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‘Return to form’ for car retailers
July was the first month since the lockdown all dealerships across the UK were able to stay open through the whole month, a fact that is reflected by the uptick in car sales, Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), said.
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Pirelli expanding all-season tyre range by 22 sizes
Pirelli is set to capitalise on the rising consumer interest in all-season tyres across Europe with an expansion to its range to cover more than 90 per cent of the market. Pirelli will introduce 22 new sizes between 16 and 19 inches in the Cinturato All Season Plus and Scorpion Verde All Season SF product ranges. All of these products are also available with Pirelli’s Seal Inside technology – a puncture protection layer added to the inside of the tyre to help extend mobility in case of damage. Pirelli adds that the new generation of premium all-season tyres has supported growth in the all-season tyre market, which in turn has seen more tyre manufacturers bring out a wider range of products. Tyres & Accessories asked Pirelli UK chairman and CEO Dominic Sandivasci about the latest European market trends, starting with the relationship between winter and all-seaosn tyres.
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Auto industry ‘far from out the woods’ despite car sales growth – KPMG
Commenting on SMMT’s new car registration figures for the month of July, Andrew Burn, UK head of automotive at KPMG, said: “With social distancing measures easing and dealerships finally in a position to reopen, it’s great to see pent-up demand released and car registrations picking-up again. However, as the year-to-date figures make painfully clear, total lost sales in 2020 are expected to be £20bn, so in many ways it’s a case of damage limitation. We’re still a long way off pre-Covid-19 levels of sales.
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Pent-up demand helps UK new car registrations up 11.3%
New car registrations rose for the first time this year in July. The figure rose 11.3 per cent in the month, year-on-year, according to the latest Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) figures. 174,887 cars were registered in July 2020, supported by the first full month of trading for dealerships since February. July 2019 registrations were affected by declining business and consumer confidence undermined the market. Pent-up demand and special offers led to a reprieve for the sector, but overall registrations are still down by -41.9 per cent or 598,054 units year-to-date. Despite the increase in July, SMMT’s full year outlook is for a -30 per cent decline in registrations, representing more than £20 billion of lost sales.
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Goodyear expanding direct online tyre sales across Europe
Goodyear has been marketing its passenger car tyres in Germany directly to end users for fitting by a listed partner for roughly six months. And for years before that there has been a noticeable trend towards online selling. Following on from our online preview article, Tyres & Accessories’ German group publication Neue Reifenzeitung interviewed David Anckaert, vice president Commercial Europe at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and began by asking: is it too early to draw initial conclusions? And where’s next?
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TecAlliance’s Peter Hollowood retires
TecAlliances Peter Hollowood has retired from an illustrious career in the automotive industry. Hollowood had worked for TecAlliance for more than 20 years, having previously run his own parts distribution business in Cheshire. Before this he held sales roles at CCI Triad (now Epicor). Mark Rudge is set to take up the mantle on an ongoing basis, assuming responsibility for TecAlliance Order Manager in the UK and Ireland, alongside his existing remit as eparts director at Fourth.
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Absolute Alignment partners Halfords Yuasa Racing in BTCC
Absolute Alignment has announced a new two-year partnership with the Team Dynamics-run Halfords Yuasa Racing outfit in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC).
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Hankook UK appoints Kallaway TBR regional sales manager
Hankook Tyre UK has appointed Shane Kallaway as truck and bus tyre regional sales manager for the South West. Kallaway succeeds Richard Ettey who has retired. Ettey leaves a long career in the tyre industry, with more than twelve years’ service at Hankook, and 40 years with Goodyear Dunlop in various roles.
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Pirelli ‘investigating’ failed tyres after dramatic Silverstone British Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton’s seventh win at Silverstone’s British Grand Prix came in dramatic circumstances after a last-lap tyre failure. The Mercedes driver was able to limp home with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull bearing down on him in a denouement filled with more tension than the rest of the race combined. Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas had suffered a tyre failure with two laps to go, preventing a predictable and regulation 1-2 finish for the team, and leaving the Finn without a point despite his team’s domination of the weekend. Tyre supplier Pirelli is conducting a full examination on what led to the tyres’ failure – McLaren’s Carlos Sainz also experienced final lap tyre issues. Initial assessments point to the lengthy stints completed on the P Zero White (C1 compound) tyre, and debris on the track after two early crashes. Tyre strategy was largely dictated by the second crash on lap 12, as many drivers opted to change early to the harder tyre during the safety car period begun.
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MOT demand set to double in the last quarter of 2020
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is encouraging motorists to get their delayed MOT test done this summer ahead of a surge in demand in the Autumn. The projections, based on due dates and vehicle MOT expiry dates, show that demand for MOTs will be at around 3.4 million in September, 4.8 million in October and November and 4.2 million in December. This demand is predicted to be around double the normal volumes (approx. 2.5 million per month). However, August demand is predicted to be just over 2 million MOTs, which is fewer than usual.
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