It’s fair to say the past 12 months have been challenging for the car retail sector.
The Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) has said it expects a “strong rebound” in the automotive finance sector after car showrooms emerge from COVID-19 ‘Lockdown 3’ on Monday.
Consumer uncertainty is the main hurdle to the car retail sector’s revival after showroom doors reopen on April 12, according to industry leaders.
UK new car sales in March 2021 were up on 2020 despite showrooms remaining closed by the coronavirus lockdowns.
A quarter of UK drivers plan to buy a hybrid powered car next, according to new research from Close Brothers.
Japanese car franchises Mazda UK and Suzuki GB have said that their car dealers will not feel the impact of the Suez Canal shipping crisis.
New car orders were down by 5% in the first two weeks of March, when compared to same period last year, as dealers enhanced their digital retailing during lockdown.
Mazda UK managing director Jeremy Thomson has told AM that the brand plans to “capture back” 50% of March sales lost to COVID-19 ‘Lockdown 3’ showroom closures in April, May and June.
The UK Government is set to start the process this year of determining its minimum zero emission distance for hybrid cars on sale after 2030, in its delivery plan.
New data from Cox Automotive shows orders for new ‘21’ number plate cars in March, usually the industry’s best performing car sales month of the year, were down by as much as 30%.
Volkswagen UK has named Lookers Northallerton as its top-performing UK car dealer during a COVID-hit 2020 trading period.
Porsche GB’s growing franchised car retail network contributed to a February sales result which delivered growth amid a market down 35.5% due to the ongoing COVID-19 ‘Lockdown 3’ showroom closures.
Car dealers should be braced for “a third, successive dismal new plate month” in March after COVID-19 ‘Lockdown 3’ delivered another 35.5% decline to the UK’s new car registrations in February.
Orders placed for new vehicles fell by 18.3% in February and used dropped by 30% according to the latest figures from lead management firm, Dealerweb.
Aston Martin’s new DBX SUV accounted for more than a quarter of the British carmaker’s 2020 sales as volumes declined by 32% in a COVID-impacted 2020.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic resulted in Europe’s lowest January new car registrations total since 1982 – down 26% year-on-year to just 839,600 units.
There will be no u-turn of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK’s decision to transition away from new car sales, despite reports which suggest the Japanese carmaker could review its decision to withdraw from Europe.
Cox Automotive’s Phillip Nothard has said it is “vital” that car showrooms are able to re-open as soon as possible despite signs that many retailers continue to perform well against the odds in COVID-19 ‘Lockdown 3’.
Cazana’s director of insights, Rupert Pontin, has conceded that February new and used car sales were ‘less promising than expected’ – despite attempts to set the data in a positive context.
The 29.4% decline in 2020 represented, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), £20.4bn in lost turnover.
New car buyers can save more than 20% on new cars ahead of the March number plate change, What Car? research has found.
Sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will stop in the UK from 2030, as part of the Government’s “green industrial revolution”.
The UK’s COVID-19 ‘Lockdown 3’ trading restrictions mean that franchised car retailers are “suffering” more greatly than their European counterparts.
The SMMT has revised its 2021 new car registrations forecast down to below 1.9 million in anticipation of COVID-19 lockdown's impact on the key March number plate change month.
Mazda UK has added its new MX-30 electric vehicle (EV) to the list of cars eligible for savings of up to £4,000 in its CO2 emissions-reducing car scrappage scheme.
