New car sales in the UK are expected to be down this year - but only because of the ending of the scrappage incentive scheme.
Car maker's body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has announced that 395,4999 new car registrations have now been processed under the scrappage scheme, and that the scheme accounted for 18.1 per cent of new car sales between May 2009 and March 2010.
However, scrappage registrations in April accounted for just eight per cent of sales - the lowest number while the scheme ran - and the SMMT says this suggests the new car market will remain buoyant without the incentive.
“The scheme helped support our economy and played a vital role in providing a much-needed boost to the UK automotive industry," said SMMT chief executive, Paul Everitt.
"Our latest registration forecasts suggest the 2010 market will perform better than expected, but will appear subdued compared to the peaks achieved during the scrappage scheme.”
The SMMT also revealed that average CO2 emissions of a car bought through the scrappage scheme were 132.9g/km of CO2, more than 27 per cent below the scrapped car’s figure and 9.5 per cent below the overall new car market average.
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Re: New car sales 'down in 2010'
Another tirade from the voice of doom. We all know things are as bad as they can get but regardless of how bad things are for majority of people there will always be a lucky few that will make good in a difficult economic climate. I have had a bad two years in construction but just recently made a killing out of struggling small builders looking for, and paying through the nose for consultants to get them through pre-tender qualification documents to enable them to tender for Police emergency repair contracts, Local Authority work, National Trust contract and the like. Sad thing is even once pre-qualified they are still unlikely to win the contract.
Thing is, the recession will actually produce the odd winner (eg Hyundai Salesmen, money for gold and short term credit companies). I get the feeling Hairshirt-Nick will resent the very odd winner with a vengence. Especially if their not that bright.
Re: New car sales 'down in 2010'
Actually, you're completely out of line with your assessment. They are well-made, reasonably priced cars, something that the UK can't achieve, so you (UK customers) look to Korea to provide a good product. They do not set out with the intent to destroy European workers' jobs, they do it to make money.
Re: New car sales 'down in 2010'
Nice to know that at least one gel-haired wassock in UK is getting his rocks off selling sh!t-boxes, deliberately dumped at below economic cost by the Koreans, to destroy European workers' jobs. Meanwhile, in an alternative universe, for the vast majority of UK's citizens, the macro picture just went fully off a cliff:
TRADE DEFICIT GROWS TO GBP 7.5 BLN (EST GBP 6.5 BLN) -- ONS
http://www.automatedtrader.net/real-time-news/40491/uk-march-goods-trade-deficit-grows-to-gbp-75-bln-est-gbp-65-bln-__-ons
'Car imports continued to rise, as well, in the final month of the UK's car-scrappage scheme.'
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=199
'Excluding oil and erratic items, the volume of exports fell by 1.8 per cent but the volume of imports rose by 3.5 per cent, compared with February. - worst figures in recent history?
Export prices rose by 2.9 per cent and import prices rose by 2.7 per cent, compared with February.' - that's hyperinflation folks; +30% annualised price rises in imported raw materials and intermediate goods. You're gonna get shafted by massive price rises in staples this year, worse than already.
Thanks partly to all those sh!t-boxes imported for Darren to get his rocks off UK's trade deficit for March came in £1 bn worse than predicted by the 'experts'. This means, even during flat/falling real economic output, UK has gone on a huge spending bender, mainly of imported wares, further underlining UK's bustedness, and meaning the pound has to fall further to realign trade competitiveness.
This of course is false, and won't happen, as the largest recent fall in the pound's history, of 25%, from 2007-9, has only sucked in higher-priced imports and maximised profit margins for the few remaining UK exporters. The little picture says - 'Good on you Mr Hyundai salesman, fair play to you'; the big picture says - 'UK citizen still thinks the world owes him his consumption, on borrowed money, and in-fact many still think the worst is now behind them'.
Boy, are you saps gonna get a shock when Osborne whacks VAT to 20%, capital gains to 40/50% and the EU/IMF impose Greece/Ireland/Spain type wage cuts for the public sector. But not to worry Darren's really loving life! LOL, as the youths would say.