JATO Dynamics’ latest report suggests that the European new car market is showing no sign of slowing down. July sales are up 5.4 per cent year-on-year, with the majority of Europe’s bigger markets in positive growth for the month. The five largest markets have all grown year-to-date.
It isn’t just European tyre markets that were up in the first half of 2014 – UK-based automotive intelligence supplier JATO Dynamics states that the European new car market grew 5.8 per cent year-on-year in the period from January to June. Sales growth of 4.3 per cent in June means that year-on-year sales increased for the tenth consecutive month. Great Britain recorded the biggest year-to-date increase in units sold – over 120,000 more than the first half of 2013, a 10.6 per cent increase. Overall, 24 of the 30 countries analysed recorded year-to-date increases in volumes compared to the same period last year, including Europe’s five largest markets – France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.
Volkswagen has delivered nearly two million passenger cars in the first four months of 2014, setting a new record for the period. 1.99 million vehicles were handed over to customers in the period to April, representing an increase of 4.6 per cent (January-April 2013: 1.91 million). Christian Klingler, board member for sales and marketing for the Volkswagen Group, attributed the success to “good sales developments in China and Europe” and “sustained high demand” for heritage products such as the Golf, now in its seventh generation.
February new car registrations rose 3.0 per cent to 68,736 units; this means that the UK new car market has achieved 24 consecutive months of growth, increasing 17.4 per cent over the period. The SMMT suggests that rising GDP and growing car registrations signal increasing consumer confidence and automotive retailers are looking forward to March results as expectations rise for a strong 14-plate performance.
According to the latest new car sales analysis from automotive intelligence provider JATO Dynamics, there was a much healthier start to 2014 for the European new car market compared to one year ago, with January sales up 4.9 per cent on last year at 965,406 vehicles. Building on a strong finish to 2013, 44,823 more […]
There are signs that new car demand is recovering as the SMMT reports that new vehicle registrations broke the million car market in the year to June 2013. This represents growth of some 10 per cent in the first half of 2013 totalling some 1,163,623 units. It was the 16th successive monthly rise in June, with this figure growing 13.4 per cent to 214,957 units.
All sectors grew, but private demand increased the most over the first half of the year, up 17.1 per cent, after a 21.3 per cent rise in June.
September, demand for new vans (light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes) declined across the EU, except in Slovakia (+9.5 per cent) and the UK (+1.1 per cent), resulting in an overall 13.5 per cent decrease. France (-12.4 per cent), Germany (-14.6 per cent), Italy (-27.6 per cent) and Spain (-34.3 per cent) all faced a double digit downturn. In total, the region counted 123,938 new vans in the month.
SMMT figures show that commercial vehicle sales in September rose slightly – the 43,787 sales represented a rise of 0.8 per cent. Van registrations for the month were 39,060; up 1.1 per cent, but truck sales were down 1.5 per cent to 4,727 units.
"The increase in retail car sales in September exceeded expectations" said Sue Robinson, Director of the RMI National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) which represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers across the UK, commenting on the SMMT's new car registration figures.
"It is encouraging that the new car market remained stable in what is traditionally a low volume months for car sales" said Sue Robinson, Director of the RMI National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) which represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers across the UK, commenting on the SMMT’s new car registration figures.
The latest new motorcycle and scooter figures show last month sales overall were up 4.5 per cent against July 2011. Under 50cc scooter sales were down 0.9 per cent in July, while all larger bikes over 50cc motorcycle sales have increased by 5.5 per cent.
India’s tyre industry may be in for a lacklustre few months, reports The Economic Times. According to the financial daily, Indian tyre industry organisation the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association expects orders from original equipment customers to be lower until about October. Association director general Rajiv Budhraja said the ATMA is “concerned about the falling orders from different manufacturers.” In May 2012, car sales grew a modest 2.78 per cent and truck and bus sales dropped 11 per cent. “The weak consumer sentiment in the market has further impacted prospects with some significant drop in demand from the replacement market," Budhraja added.
The total bus and coach sector grew significantly in February to 519 registrations, up 73.6 per cent, with the year-to-date up 39.9 per cent, says the SMMT. Registrations of purpose-built buses and coaches rose 121.7 per cent in the month and 72.6 per cent for the first two months of 2012. Converted bus registrations were up 32.3 per cent in February, and 8.7 per cent for the year-to-date.
A report in the UK press says that there are more charging points for electric cars in the UK than there are actual vehicles on the road.
Within the next two years capacity at Pirelli’s Jining factory in China’s Shandong province will double to ten million tyres per annum. During a China-based interview with Bloomberg TV on February 24, company chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera mentioned the capacity expansion as part of a 300 million euro investment in China to be made over the coming three years – Pirelli previously postponed its investment there in 2009 due to the recession.
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