At PwC, Phil Harrold, automotive partner, said it was good to see investment return in private new cars.
“I also do not think this trend will be short-lived, but rather something that will continue to pick up as confidence grows,” he added.
The risers
Market leader Ford enjoyed 10.4% growth year-on-year, or 2,419 incremental registrations.
Its new Kuga SUV is now in the marketplace, and its key growth models include Fiesta, Focus and the B-Max.
For Ford’s closest rival, growth was more modest.
Vauxhall’s 3% increase equated to 623 more cars than in May 2012, but with a TV campaign for Corsa on air at present the carmaker is expected to push harder into Q3.
Moving forward rather more quickly is Nissan.
In May it achieved 2,323 extra registrations year-on-year, up 34.6%, as Qashqai continues to perform strongly.
With a much-needed facelifted Micra waiting in the wings for the September plate-change, expect Nissan to continue its upward trajectory.
Volkswagen’s 5.5% increase equated to 859 more cars than a year ago, while Hyundai, despite planning for a fairly flat 2013, is still surging ahead with a 30.5% rise in May, or 1,456 extra cars.
The fallers
Fourteen trading brands posted a worse result in May 2013.
One of the most surprising was Land Rover, down 0.9% or 54 units, despite continuing strong demand for Freelander and Range Rover Evoque models.
This blip will be long forgotten come September once the new Range Rover Sport is winning business, and dealer sources told AM the next generation Freelander will be a hot prospect too.
Except for similar blips at Honda (down 1.3%) and Peugeot (down 4.1%), May’s fallers were mostly the usual suspects. Proton didn’t sell a single car, but told AM it has new models due in 2014 – luckily, it’s a franchise that generally supports a used car business, rather than the reverse.
MG’s 13 registrations was a 73.5% decline on May 2012, despite the brand’s increased exposure through race wins in the British Touring Car Championship.
Jeep and Alfa Romeo continue to offset the strength of Fiat.
While the latter is posting growth, its two sister brands are having a difficult 2013.
In May, Jeep’s registrations were down 31.2%, while Alfa’s fell 29.6%.
As editor, Tim is responsible for the media content, planning and production of AM's multiple channels (AM print and digital magazines, website, social media and contributing to our events planning). He interviews and writes about as many franchised dealer groups and UK divisions of motor manufacturers as possible, to explore the issues facing UK motor retail and understand what solutions dealers and suppliers are using to overcome these.
Ex dealer principal - 06/07/2013 11:04
Wake up ,when will everyone realise that this increae is only brough about by manufactures making dealers pre register cars to distort the market so that targets can be increased Pre registered cars dont disappear into a hole in the ground Someone should do a survey to find out how many pre registered cars dealers are sitting on ascertain the true market.Pre registering is hastening the day of the small family dealer and adding to the power of the large groups