Tag Archives: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders

Sale Of New Cars And Vans Increase In UK

 

As with a lot of businesses, motor traders involved with the sale of new cars and vans in the UK have had a difficult period of trading for more than 12 months due to the pandemic. However, figures recently published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) for the year to date to 30th June 2021 reveal that numbers have increased in comparison to the same period in 2020 albeit the impact of COVID–19 needs to be borne in mind when looking at the figures.

 

On a year to date basis to the 30th June 2020, the number of new cars registered here in the UK amounted to 653,502 whereas, on a year to date basis to the 30th June 2021, the volume of new cars sold totalled 909,973 – a difference of 256,471 (+39.2%).

 

 

Conventional new petrol fuelled cars saw a rise in registrations in the first six months of 2021 in comparison to the same period last year – up from 392,608 to 442,583 (+ 12.7%). However, fewer conventional new diesel fuelled cars were registered in the first six months of this year when compared with the same period last year – 93,087 compared to 118,957 (-21.7%). The registration of all types of new electric cars showed a positive increase when comparing the same periods this year and last year.

 

Having broken the figures down to the private, fleet and business sectors, all revealed a positive increase in new car registrations when comparing both periods.

 

The top 3 selling new cars in the UK on a year to date basis to 30th June 2021 were: –

 

  1. Vauxhall Corsa 24,399
  2. Ford Fiesta 21,511
  3. Volkswagen Golf 19,608

 

 

Again, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), has recently published figures for the registration of new vans here in the UK. For the year to date to the 30th June 2021, the number of new vans sold in the up to 3.5t category totalled 191,513 whereas for the same period to the 30th June 2020 the figure was 108, 876 (+75.9%). One of the reasons why such an increase was seen was due to delivery businesses taking on more new vans to cope with an increase in online sales.

 

The top 3 selling new vans in the UK on a year to date basis to 30th June 2021 were: –

 

  1. Ford Transit Custom 26,978
  2. Ford Transit 17,644
  3. Volkswagen Transporter 12,586

 

 

It will be interesting to monitor the registration of new cars and vans here in the UK over the next few months as we hopefully see restrictions in relation to the coronavirus being eased/lifted.

 

If you are looking to insure either a car(s) or a van(s), why not get in touch with a friendly, experienced member of our staff on 02380 268 351 to discuss your requirements so that we can do all that we can to obtain a competitive quotation from our extensive, closely vetted panel of insurers without any obligation.

911 Targa 4S Heritage Design by Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur.

In a world of headlines reserved for the powerhouse GT2, GT3, RS, Turbo and Turbo S models,how do you make that bread and butter 911 Carrera special, you call Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur. The all-new 2020 Porsche 911 (Generation 992) Targa 4S Heritage Design is the first of 4 classic-inspired special editions and announces the expansion of Porsche’s ‘bespoke tailoring’ Exclusive Manufaktur division.

 

The expansion of Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur follows on from the global success of the limited-edition 911 (Generation 991) Speedster Heritage Design, which since its launch have been trading at upwards of £300k (£200k list price). The Speedster’s Heritage Design concept provided a perfect testbed for how the design features would work on Porsche fans and customers. Porsche are planning 4 special editions from Exclusive Manufaktur over the course of the 992-generation 911’s lifetime. These will appear on different 911 variants and celebrating different designs from the 911’s history, blending modern 911 technology with design elements of the past.

 

The 992 Targa was the perfect model with its retro Targa styling to be the first Heritage Design production model. It is launched with details from the 50s and 60s, with an exclusive Cherry Red paintwork, inspired by the early shades of the Classic 50’s Porsche 356. The Porsche logo is in its old font and brake callipers in black, as back in the 50sthere weren’t any red or yellow brake callipers. A major design feature is the historical white livery and lollipop number stickers on the doors, where customers can specify any numbers. The Heritage Design continues into the interior with red leather and corduroy seats, as used in the 356, along with interior and exterior parts in gold trim as they once were. A unique badge on the rear lid has been reintroduced, which were given back in the day to 356 owners who had reached 100,000km in their cars.

 

The 911 Targa 4S Heritage Design is limited to 992 global units, which is the eighth-generation 911’s internal designation. UK prices start from £136,643, with UK deliveries expected to start in the autumn. It is £26,918 more than a standard Targa 4S, with customer likely to add a sizeable number of additional cost options extras to their final specifications. It shares the same mechanical unchanged specification from the Targa 4S’s chassis and powertrain, paired with either the eight-speed PDK or seven-speed manual transmission. Deploying it’s 444bhp 3-litre twin-turbocharged flat-six engine and all-wheel-drive system to 189mph and a 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds.

 

The Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur team expect the future rollout of these bespoke models to be up to two years before the next car. Porsche Exclusive stands for passion and craftsmanship, so keeping these models exclusive is key to that strategy. The future range expected to look back at the 60s, 70s and 80s based on other 911 variants. These special editions appeal to customers who are fascinated by Porsche’s rich heritage, its classic design features and want these in modern cars. This might also inspire people who have not considered a Porsche 911 with this heritage style that brings back something cool from the past.

Car Manufacturing In The UK Is Booming

imagesMotorists may be interested to read that car manufacturing is doing very nicely here in the UK with the number of new cars built reaching a 10 year high in 2015 when 1,587,677 new cars came off production lines. The £10 billion that has been invested in producing new models and in certain other areas of the industry during the last 5 years would appear to be proving beneficial. Of those vehicles, 1,227,881 (77.3%) were exported.

 

It is also interesting that this August was the best August for 14 years when it came to the number of new cars manufactured in the UK with 109,004 being built. Of those, 81,200 (74.5%) were exported.

The year-to-date figures to August 2016 reveal that 1,132,727 new cars were built with this being an increase of 12% when compared to the same period last year so it is quite possible that more cars will be built this year than in 2015. Of those cars, 877,523 were exported (77.5%).

As you can see, a very large % of vehicles being built in the UK are exported overseas. Below are the top 10 places that they were transported to last year: –

1. EU Countries 57.3%
2. USA 12.1%
3. China 7.1%
4. Turkey 3.2%
5. Australia 2.5%
6. Japan 2.0%
7. South Korea 1.8%
8. Canada 1.5%
9. Russia 1.1%
10. Israel 1.1%

Within the EU the top 6 countries importing cars built in the UK were Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, Portugal and Spain.

German FlagBelgium Flag

Italy FlagFrance FlagPortugal Flag

Spain Flag

 

 

 

Below are a few interesting facts about the car industry here in the UK: –

a) Demand for electric cars increased by more than 50% in 2015.
b) A new car is built every 16 seconds.
c) The UK has the second largest new car market in Europe with Germany holding the number one position.
d) The UK is the 10th largest manufacturer of new cars in the world.
e) There were 2.63 million new cars sold in the UK with 86.55 of them being imported from other countries.
f) In the region of 2.5 million car engines are built in the UK each year.

The above data was produced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). If you are interested, you can find out even more information on their website.

Here at AIB Insurance, we pride ourselves on helping our many motoring customers obtain competitive car insurance as well as providing a first class, professional and personal service both pre and after sale. So, if you would like a quotation then why not get in touch with us on 02380 268 351.