Marvellous May for car manufacturers
THE new car market has seen its longest period of sustained growth, latest figures have confirmed.
The May increase in the new car market of 7.7% was the 27th consecutive month of growth, beating a record set in the late 1980s.
In total, 194,032 new vehicles were registered in May, the most seen for that month since 2004.
Registrations for 2014-to-date have already passed the one million mark, rising 11.6% to 1,058,974 vehicles.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: “The new car market has now grown in every month since March 2012 – the longest period of growth on record and a reflection of the UK’s ever-improving economic conditions.
“Over the past 27 months, increasingly confident consumers have been drawn to some fantastic new products, attracted by innovative technologies, improved fuel economy and competitive deals helping make a new car more affordable.”
He tempered the situation by saying that with the SMMT forecasting an overall rise of around 6% over the year, the coming months should see some levelling off in growth rates as underlying demand stabilises.
Richard Lowe, head of retail & wholesale at Barclays, said: “It’s great to see the longest period of growth on record – as well as improved consumer confidence, the two bank holiday weekends will have helped to fuel May’s increase, as consumers took advantage of the time off from work to visit car showrooms.
“Looking ahead over the summer months it will be interesting to see if this holds firm, or whether we will see the growth rate drop down a gear. If there is a slowdown, all eyes will be on manufacturers and the actions they take to try to drive the market forward.”
Jaguar and Land Rover both saw growth in their figures, up by a respective 7.9% and 18%. While the 4×4 manufacturer’s figures for the year are flat, Jaguar remains up by almost 10%.
Main rivals Audi, BMW and Mercedes Benz also saw increases, up by 10.4%, 8.5% and 20.7% respectively.
In the luxury sector, Aston Martin was down 4% year-on-year while Bentley remained in positive territory with a near 2% increase in registrations – equivalent to the sale of just two cars, such as the firm’s margins.
BMW’s Mini continued its struggle as buyers continued to wait for the brand’s replacement model to hit showrooms.
In the volume sector, Ford retained its leading market share despite a, 8.6% fall in registrations year-on-year. Rival – and England’s football team sponsor – Vauxhall fared better, up more than 5% to keep hold of the number two spot.
