New car figures set for six-year high
LATEST figures out today are expected to show that the UK’s new car market is now the strongest it has been since the onset of recession.
The report by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders is likely to show that new registrations for 2013 exceeded 2.25m, putting the market on target to achieve its best results since 2007.
UK car production rose 4.5% in the year to November and is likely to pass the annual 1.5m mark for the first time in six years, the SMMT predicted last month.
Meanwhile, by the end of November 2,111,819 new cars had been registered in the UK, up 9.9% on 2012 and ahead of that year’s full-year total of 2,044,609.
The SMMT predicted last month the UK’s new car market was on target to hit 2.25m registrations for the year.
Should the 2.25m target be exceeded then this would represent a full-year increase in excess of 10%, underlining the current strength of the new car sector.
On the production side, the encouraging thing for the UK’s balance of trade deficit is that around 80% of the vehicles manufactured are destined for export.
Jaguar Land Rover’s strong performance in the Asian markets and its commitment to a new plant in Brazil suggest the production figures are likely to stay strong for some time to come.
The company’s new £0.5bn engine plant will begin production later this year, strengthening its position.
However, how long growth can be sustained in the UK is less clear. Analysts have suggested that growth in the new car market is likely to tail off slightly this year, while others suggest that fewer dealer incentives and reduced windfall payments from PPI settlements could limit the spending power of consumers.
Nevertheless, at current levels the UK car market is now stronger than France and within Europe lies second only to Germany.
The strength of the market is also good news for employment with leading manufacturers such as JLR and BMW – which owns Mini – all announcing more jobs last year.
