Car Registrations Fall 18% Yoy In December

[fellow]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f2a6c092-1a58-11e0-a361-00144feab49a.html

New car registrations in December were significantly below those of one year earlier although for the year as a whole, sales were higher.

The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the trade body representing auto makers and dealers, said total car registrations in December were 123,817, or 18 per cent below levels a year earlier when purchases were still seeing a boost from the car scrappage scheme.

The scheme, which ended in March, was responsible for more than 100,000 new car registrations over 2010, about 5 per cent of the total.

Although December 2010 sales were below last year, stripping out the cars purchased through the scrappage scheme in 2009 would have shown that sales were actually stronger by 4.8 per cent.

Overall, new care registrations for 2010, at 2,030,846, beat those of 2009 by 1.8 per cent. However, sales remain significantly below pre-recession levels. In 2007, registrations totalled 2.4m units.

Paul Everitt, chief executive of the SMMT, said economic conditions remained “challenging”, particularly for retailers. “UK motor manufacturing recovered particularly well in 2010 and the outlook is for further steady growth this year,” he said. Demand is expected to pick up in the second half of 2011.

However, Mr Everitt noted that in spite of the improvement, 2010 had been the second lowest for sales of any year this decade.

In particular, private car purchases – essentially consumer rather than business purchases – have taken a hit. Private car registrations are down 37.5 per cent from where they were in 2009, and are down 5.6 per cent for the full year.

Household purchases of cars were 47.2 per cent of all new car registrations in 2010, against 50.8 per cent of all registrations in 2009.

In fact, SMMT said, private car registrations fell below the 1m mark for only the second time in the past decade.

Economists noted that the drop in demand for privately owned cars might be a harbinger for other consumer spending.

“The data on private car registrations, which can be an important window on consumer behaviour, were something of a disappointment in the month,” said Malcolm Barr, economist at JPMorgan.

He said he had expected some purchases might have been brought forward to avoid the rise in value added tax, which took effect this week.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

Edited January 7, 2011 by fellow

[Beggar Thy Children]

I don't know what to say, It's all just so unexpected.

[MrPin]

Not surprised. My old car (12 years) is still going fine!

[Beggar Thy Children]

Not surprised. My old car (12 years) is still going fine!

Why wouldn't it be, don't you look after it?

Is 12 years old an 'old car' these days?

Edited January 7, 2011 by Beggar Thy Children

[Bloo Loo]

Our Toyota dealer seems to be stuffed to the gunnels with new regs on its forecourt.

[fellow]

And this is before the VAT rise which you would expect to have brought forward some purchases.

Edited January 7, 2011 by fellow

[onesmallstep]

this must be the recovery in manufacturing yippee!!

[Chest Rockwell]

Is it me or does this site seem to be fooked at the moment? All the quotes are fooked up?

[onesmallstep]

Is it me or does this site seem to be fooked at the moment? All the quotes are fooked up?

aha, I thought it was chrome, thanks

[Harry Monk]

Not surprised. My old car (12 years) is still going fine!

Yes, my P-reg V6 Rover Sterling resisted the scrappage scheme so if I didn't trade it in when it was worth £2000, I'm sure as shit not going to now.

Lovely car, except that where most cars have a picture of a petrol pump on the fuel gauge, mine has a picture of an oil refinery.

[MrPin]

Yes, my P-reg V6 Rover Sterling resisted the scrappage scheme so if I didn't trade it in when it was worth £2000, I'm sure as shit not going to now.

Lovely car, except that where most cars have a picture of a petrol pump on the fuel gauge, mine has a picture of an oil refinery.

Truth is Harry, and it was mentioned above, that a 12 year old car is still viable, not like back in the 80s.

Somehow the cars got "very good" sometime in the 80s and don't fall apart like the older ones!

I'm not sure the curent models will do so well!

[Harry Monk]

Truth is Harry, and it was mentioned above, that a 12 year old car is still viable, not like back in the 80s.

Yes but no, any car will last three times longer if the owner has an interest in it, puts a coat of wax on it from time to time, and does minor jobs and has a general look-around once in a while....

My last car was a 1988 Ford Sierra 2.0 GLS which I kept for five years (2001-2006) and eventually sold on eBay for just £15 less than I paid for it, I just checked DVLA and it is still on the road and taxed.

So although I love my 90's car I wouldn't dismiss 80's cars out of hand

I still wish I had hung on to my 1962 Humber Super Snipe...

[Flatdog]

Yes but no, any car will last three times longer if the owner has an interest in it, puts a coat of wax on it from time to time, and does minor jobs and has a general look-around once in a while....

My last car was a 1988 Ford Sierra 2.0 GLS which I kept for five years (2001-2006) and eventually sold on eBay for just £15 less than I paid for it, I just checked DVLA and it is still on the road and taxed.

So although I love my 90's car I wouldn't dismiss 80's cars out of hand

I still wish I had hung on to my 1962 Humber Super Snipe...

I think that we share a generation HM, and enthusiasm for older vehicles.

I wish that I still owned my Triumph Vitesse, Rover 3 litre, Sunbeam Alpine, Rover Sd1, '56 Fairlane, Humber Sceptre, Lancia Flaminia et al.

Truth is that we enjoyed them when they were just about viable..and that having either of them rusting away in a garage would be a pain.

[plummet expert]

I don't know what to say, It's all just so unexpected.

So unexpected that Fiat have reported a fall of 24% in Euro sales in the Q4 2010.

[Flatdog]

So unexpected that Fiat have reported a fall of 24% in Euro sales in the Q4 2010.

Link por favor.

24% fall in sales, and that with the popularity of the 500..unreal

[Harry Monk]

I think that we share a generation HM, and enthusiasm for older vehicles.

Yes, in fact your avatar was exactly the type of car that Humber based the Hawk and Snipe series on. All 1960's British cars were toned-down American designs, Austin A60's, Ford Anglias, Capris etc

[koala_bear]

Not surprised. My old car (12 years) is still going fine!

The median age for a car to last is ~16 at the moment.

[Flatdog]

Yes, in fact your avatar was exactly the type of car that Humber based the Hawk and Snipe series on. All 1960's British cars were toned-down American designs, Austin A60's, Ford Anglias, Capris etc

My Avatar is a picture of a '56 Ford Fairlane V8 that I drove on the road for many years and eventually destroyed on a racing circuit...all good fun.

I have never owned a Hawk or Snipe, but remember the family Sceptre well, it had lots of chrome and the dashboard was littered with interesting dials..a delicate little stalk on the steering column engaged overdive..lovely.

I ran Peugeot 404 (Farina design) saloon in the late 70's , well, it looked similar to an Austin A60 but drove very well indeed.

[Harry Monk]

The median age for a car to last is ~16 at the moment.

Impossible, whenever I do a car journey with my kids we play a game called "Spot the car older than ours" and that keeps them quiet for the whole journey, and my car is only a P-reg, only 13 years old.

[Beggar Thy Children]

Impossible, whenever I do a car journey with my kids we play a game called "Spot the car older than ours" and that keeps them quiet for the whole journey, and my car is only a P-reg, only 13 years old.

Same here, but hers is an L-reg. Quite rare to see anything older.

Mine is an H-reg

[repetitive bleats]

Impossible, whenever I do a car journey with my kids we play a game called "Spot the car older than ours" and that keeps them quiet for the whole journey, and my car is only a P-reg, only 13 years old.

mine is an M-reg. Mitsubishi so it is japanese imported tat so god knows how its still going - as we all know stuff from the far east is rubbish! each MOT has cost me on average £150 which is insane as i'd only expect that kind of result from something that was made in england.

[Beggar Thy Children]

mine is an M-reg. Mitsubishi so it is japanese imported tat so god knows how its still going - as we all know stuff from the far east is rubbish! each MOT has cost me on average £150 which is insane as i'd only expect that kind of result from something that was made in england.

My L-reg and H-reg are both French and never cost any significant money at MOT time (mainly because I actually 'maintain' them year round)

Still, everyone knows French cars break down and die within 6 months of rolling off the forecourt.

Edited January 7, 2011 by Beggar Thy Children

[fellow]

Link por favor.

24% fall in sales, and that with the popularity of the 500..unreal

It is massive, and it can't all be blamed on the snow. January will be interesting.

[MrPin]

I still wish I had hung on to my 1962 Humber Super Snipe...

I always wanted a Super-Snipe, but got a Vauxhall Viscount instead!

[fellow]

Surprise surprise the snow is getting the blame.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/8247167/Snow-hits-new-car-sales.html

Telegraph: Snow hits new car sales

Snow hits new car sales

Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on Friday show new car registrations fell 18pc year-on-year in December, worse than the 11.5pc fall in November.

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global Insight, said: "The extent of December's drop was disappointing, particularly given hopes that sales would be boosted by some buyers looking to beat January's VAT hike from 17.5pc to 20.0pc.

"Having said that, it is highly likely that car sales were adversely affected in December by the severe weather stopping people getting out to garages and car showrooms."

Another sign of the weather's impact was that retail sales collapsed by 37.5pc in the month, while fleet sales, which are less likely to be affected by the snow, rose 5.1pc.

For 2010 as a whole, car sales rose 1.8pc to 2.03m in the UK. However, this was driven by the Government's scrappage incentive scheme in the first half of the year, which accounted for 100,000 cars, or 5pc of the annual market. In the second half of the year, sales fell by 13.8pc.

With economic conditions uncertain and Britain set to be hit by tax rises and public sector job losses, the SMMT is forecasting that sales will fall by 5pc in 2011 to 1.93m cars.

Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive, said: "Economic conditions remain extremely challenging but the industry expects demand to strengthen in the second half of the year."

The Ford Fiesta ended 2010 as the UK's most popular car, although the Vauxhall Astra took top spot in December,

It was also a successful year for Land Rover, which was boosted by the poor weather. According to SMMT figures, Land Rover sales rose 27pc in 2010. There were also strong performances by Renault, whose sales rose 51pc, Nissan, which gained 15pc, BMW, which increased by 11pc, and Kia, which rose 11pc.

Edited January 8, 2011 by fellow