If you are a motor trader, unfortunately, yet again we have some bad news to inform you of. The number of new cars registered here in the UK fell in May 2019 when compared with the same month last year.
In May 2019, 183,724 new cars were sold in the UK yet in May 2018 192,649 new cars were sold. That is a drop of 8,925 and equates to a reduction of 4.6%.
Those of you operating within the motor trade industry will be disappointed to have heard that Ford is to close its Bridgend engine plant on 25th September 2020. This is just over a year away and, apparently, there are 1,700 people who will be loosing their jobs. That would be bad news for many people living in and around the Bridgend area as well as some businesses in the locality that are frequented by people working at the Ford plant.
Unfortunately, there is more bad news for the motor trade industry with the announcement that in April 2019 there was a large drop in the number of new cars built here in the UK. This will concern many businesses in the industry including those directly and indirectly connected to this important sector of manufacturing.
It is good to be able to provide some positive news to those of our readers who operate within the motor trade industry. Motor traders in particular will be pleased to hear that the number of new HGV sales rose in the first quarter of 2019 in comparison to the first quarter of 2018 based upon information published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Those of you running a business in the motor trade industry, in particular motor traders, will find it interesting to read that there was a small reduction in the number of used cars sold in Q1 2019 when compared with Q1 2018.
Data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveals that the number of used cars sold in Q1 2019 was 2,020, 144 whereas in Q1 2018 the figure was 2,031,661. That is a drop of 11,517 that equates to a fall of 0.6% – only a small drop but nevertheless it is still a fall in numbers.
There is yet more bad news for the new car market here in the UK with the announcement that there has been another fall in the number of new cars built in March 2019. This is the tenth month in succession that this has happened and is a concerning fact for many in the motor trade industry- in particular motor traders.
There is not an awful lot of good news in the motor trade industry at the moment so it is pleasing to see that the number of new vans sold here in the UK went up by a significant level when comparing March 2019 with March 2018 according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The sale of all vans up to 3.5 tonnes rose from 59,764 in March 2018 to 66,123 in March 2019. This equates to a significant rise of 10.6%. This news will please motor traders involved in the buying and selling of both new and used vans.
Motor traders will be interested to read that, according to data produced by the Finance and Leasing Association, the number of used cars here in the UK purchased by consumers with the assistance of finance arranged at the dealership has gone up in the 12 months to February 2019.
In the 12 months to February 2019, the number of used cars bought using point of sale finance rose to 1,464,817. This is a rise of 5% which we are sure you will agree is a significant increase. The value of these advances came to £17,762 million. This was a rise of 11% – a sizeable rise.
Unfortunately, there has been more bad news for the motor trade industry with the announcement that there was a fall in the number of new cars registered here in the UK in March 2019 when compared with the same month last year. This will particularly concern motor traders – both those selling new and used cars.
Some interesting research has been carried out on behalf of Co-op Insurance relating to the number of motorists who get stressed due to having their vehicle put through its MOT. The number of owners of cars taking part in the survey here in the UK amounted to 2,001.
Apparently, 59% of people taking part in the survey felt that the experience of having to get their car MOT’d was a stressful one. We are sure that you will agree this is a high figure.
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