"It is encouraging that new car sales increased in April with private registrations continuing to improve" 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 increase in retail car sales highlights the early signs of a more stable market" 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.
New car sales figures show month on month sales were up 1.8 per cent compared to March last year. Private registrations showed one of the best monthly increases in the past two years, up 7.4 per cent in March.
The latest new motorcycle and scooter figures show sales overall were up 1.4 per cent against February 2011. Under 50cc scooter sales were down 15.8 per cent in February, while over 50cc motorcycle sales have increased six per cent.
"February 2012 sales figures saw a dip in the overall commercial vehicle market after a period of strong recovery in 2011. While truck registrations continued to rise, up 26.4 per cent in February, van registrations fell by 26.4 per cent" said Sue Robinson, Director of the RMI National Franchised Dealers Association which represents commercial vehicle and franchised car retailers across the UK, commenting on the SMMT's van and truck registration figures.
"Although the new car market was down last month, it is positive to see an increase in private registrations highlighting that consumers are slowly coming back to the market." 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 sales overall were up 6.3 per cent compared with January 2011. Under 50cc scooter sales were up 1.3 per cent in January, while over 50cc motorcycle sales increased 7.4 per cent.
Steve Fulford, chairman of The Parts Alliance says the last year has been a successful one for the parts distributor, with a new, expanded head office opening and continued growth in market share. While 2011 hasn’t exactly provided the sustained growth that one could have hoped for, Fulford says the aftermarket’s continued buoyancy, particularly in the first half of the year, and the trend he reports of more motorists turning to the services of independent garages for cost savings, the prospects for next year are good.
According to the Castrol Professional Car Service and Repair Trend Tracker, franchised workshops are losing servicing business to independent and fast-fit outlets. The independent sector now accounts for 45.7 per cent of servicing work, up from 42.1 per cent last year. A decade ago, the independents' share was just 30.2 per cent.
"Commercial vehicle sales remain strong with around 23 per cent growth in August. Whilst economic uncertainty is ever present, truck and van sales are retaining their strength with all sectors in the market performing better than last year." said Sue Robinson, Director of the RMI National Franchised Dealers Association which represents commercial vehicle and franchised car retailers across the UK, commenting on the SMMT’s van and truck registration figures.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has reported that the UK has seen the monthly new car market rise for the first time in over a year. August new registrations rose by 7.3 per cent to 59,346 units, representing the first monthly rise since June 2010. The rise was mainly the result of increased private demand, up 10.7 per cent, though fleet business also grew 4.5 per cent. The main car size to benefit was the ever-popular Supermini segment, which rose by 17.6 per cent to account for 37.3 per cent of the August market. Outlook for the rest of 2011 remained “challenging” according to the society.
The latest new motorcycle and scooter figures show year-on-year sales were down 3.8 per cent compared with 2010 and down 2.1 per cent year-to-date. However scooter sales were up 16.5 per cent in June, whilst larger bike registrations fell by almost 11 per cent. The year-to-date figures show that Scooter sales have increased by 15.9 per cent but larger bike sales have decreased 8.4 per cent.
To encourage repeat business at its franchised dealers, Vauxhall has pledged to match the best price on a large selection of the tyres offered through its more than 400 MasterFit retailers throughout the UK. Under what it calls its Tyre Price Promise, the network will price match Continental, Pirelli, Dunlop, Michelin and Firestone brand tyres sold within a five mile radius of its outlets.
April’s total van and truck registrations were up 24.1 per cent to 21,578, meaning the rolling year total is up 24.3 per cent to 280,775. The latest SMMT figures also show that April’s truck total was up 40.1 per cent to 3,497 (rolling year up 17.5 per cent to 37,544), while the van breakdown was up 21.4 per cent to 18,081 (rolling year up 25.5 per cent to 243,231).
The April UK new car market fell by 7.4 per cent to 137,746 units, according to the latest figures issued by the SMMT. However, the market was 1.5 per cent ahead of forecast and said to be “on par with the 2010 market” if take the scrappage volumes out of consideration. Year-to-date, registrations over the first four months of 2011 were down 8.5 per cent to 696,082 units, leaving the SMMT’s full-year forecast unchanged at 1.93 million units.
Despite the tough market conditions, fleet demand reportedly remains robust, up 6.5 per cent in April, while diesel volumes also recorded strong growth. Diesel cars represented 52.7 per cent of the total market in April and have shown year-on-year growth in every month of 2011. The VW Golf was the best selling diesel in April. Alternatively fuelled car registrations rose by 48.1 per cent in April.
A concerted focus on helping businesses reduce operating costs and improve efficiency has helped Kwik-Fit Fleet secure a third award for 2010, this time from industry publication Fleet Van. At the Fleet Van Awards 2010 ceremony, held in London on October 6, the fast-fit provider was confirmed as this year’s Van Service and Repair Company of the Year. The latest gong to come Kwik-Fit Fleet’s way joins accolades earned in the BusinessCar Awards and from LeasePlan UK earlier in the year.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
