News: UK sales continue to boom. Why worry?

MG3

The past few days has seen a flurry of press releases from happy car manufacturers and importers, stating that 2014 has been yet another year of record sales and growth. Winners include Suzuki, Subaru, MINI and – yes – MG Motor UK.

This is excellent news, and shows, once again, that the UK appears to be weathering the economic gloom that’s beginning to overshadow the European economy. So, in the press releases, you’ll read guff like this from MG Motor UK: ‘The iconic British brand grew sales by 361% (to 2300) following a highly successful launch of its new MG3 supermini, a major expansion of the dealer network and the addition of a new performance diesel powertrain in the MG6.’

Or KIA’s President and Chief Executive of Kia Motors in the UK, Paul Philpott, who said: ‘The UK new car market has performed well in 2014 with premium products and light commercials doing particularly well – so to maintain our momentum is both heartening and encouraging for our dealer network.’

Picking through the press releases issued after the SMMT’s sales figures were made public shows that there have been many records broken, so we really should be given a hearty pat on the back for keeping the economy turning by buying – and building, and exporting – an increasing number of cars. So are things fixed after the worst global recession to hit the western world in a lifetime?

It’s interesting to see what Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said on the matter. He stated: ‘UK new car registrations returned to pre-recession levels in 2014. For the market as a whole, we expect a more stable 2015 as demand levels off.’

Reading between the lines, the that’s definite praise for 2014, but a much less bullish comment on 2015’s chances. Yes, he’s saying that it’ll be stable, but it’s also telling that he thinks that demand is going to level off. No doubt, the SMMT is preparing for the eventuality of political and economic unrest in 2015 – with the prospect of an unsettled General Election, unstable markets, tension in Russia, and religious unrest throughout Europe and the Middle East – the fragile British recovery could, and probably will, stall in 2015.

Yes, 2014 was a great year for car sales, but the industry should not be complacent. So when asked why should we be fearful of a return of Scrappage in 2015, given the strong sales last year? Read above – and remember that the SMMT is the organisation that’s drawing up plans to facilitate its reintroduction. If the scheme does come back, you can guarantee that I’ll be fighting it in whatever way possible.

UK new car registrations (rolling year total) – 2008-2014, with 2015 forecast

UK Sales

December Total Diesel Petrol AFV Private Fleet Business
 
2014 166,198 84,486 77,383 4,329 64,549 90,475 11,174
2013 152,918 80,947 69,736 2,235 61,074 84,213 7,631
% change 8.7% 4.4% 11.0% 93.7% 5.7% 7.4% 46.4%
Mkt share ’14 50.8% 46.6% 2.6% 38.8% 54.4% 6.7%
Mkt share ’13 52.9% 45.6% 1.5% 39.9% 55.1% 5.0%
2014 full year Total Diesel Petrol AFV Private Fleet Business
 
2014 2,476,435 1,240,287 1,184,409 51,739 1,179,499 1,178,416 118,520
2013 2,264,737 1,127,414 1,104,592 32,731 1,074,622 1,084,279 105,836
% change 9.3% 10.0% 7.2% 58.1% 9.8% 8.7% 12.0%
Mkt share ’14 50.1% 47.8% 2.1% 47.6% 47.6% 4.8%
Mkt share ’13 49.8% 48.8% 1.4% 47.5% 47.9% 4.7%
  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Total cars 2,404,007 2,131,795 1,994,999 2,030,846 1,941,253 2,044,609 2,264,737
Best sellers December       2014 full year
1 Vauxhall Corsa 8074 1 Ford Fiesta 131,254
2 Ford Fiesta 7507 2 Ford Focus 85,140
3 Ford Focus 6196 3 Vauxhall Corsa 81,783
4 MINI 5375 4 Volkswagen Golf 73,880
5 Vauxhall Astra 4936 5 Vauxhall Astra 59,689
6 Vauxhall Mokka 4099 6 Nissan Qashqai 49,909
7 Volkswagen Golf 4093 7 Volkswagen Polo 48,004
8 BMW 3 Series 3361 8 Audi A3 45,581
9 Volkswagen Polo 3189 9 Fiat 500 44,005
10 Nissan Juke 3048 10 Nissan Juke 39,263
Keith Adams

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