Registrations of new cars in the UK were down
2.45% year-on-year for February, and down 51.99%
from January, according to figures from the Society of Motor
Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The SMMT considers the figures stable as, over
the two months, new car sales fell by only 1,514 units, 0.79%,
compared to the same period last year.
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Despite the market being down, private
registrations were up 2.1% over January and February, with a slight
loss of sales in the fleet and business sector, which was
performing “relatively worse than last year,” according to a
spokesperson for the SMMT.
Registrations for cars with diesel engines
were up 4.9%, and now account for 53.9% of the market (compared to
50.1% a year ago).
Quietest month
February is regularly the quietest month for
registrations and the fall from January’s sales figures is typical
of the new car market, on a par with the 50.76% drop between the
two months in 2011.
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By GlobalDataBy SMMT estimates, on average, February
accounts for 3.3% of new car sales throughout the year ahead of the
March plate change and swell of registrations.
The month accounted for 3.27% of all new sales
in 2011, and 3.38% in 2010 and, if taken with the recent average
for January – 6.64% of new registrations in 2011, 7.16% in 2010 –
early extrapolations for total new car sales in the UK would be
around 1.86m units.
The SMMT, however, put the estimate at 1.92m,
down from 1.94m in 2011, predicting stability in the market
should there be no rise in motoring taxes, support for low-carbon
solutions,
increased availability of affordable credit and economic
stimulation from the Budget on 21 March.
March is far more critical to both those in,
and those predicting, the market and accounts for approximately 20%
of new car sales. February, by contrast, sees so few registrations
any minor fluctuation will skew predictions.
The SMMT said a better indication of the
market will be available by the end of March,
during which 350,000 units are expected to be sold, and the end
of the first quarter of the year.
Top three brands
Total new registrations for the year to date
for Ford were up 6.69% to 29,018 units, making it the market leader
and giving the manufacturer a share of 15.21% and a 13.1% share of
the retail market, up 1.9 ppts.
The figure is far in excess of second-placed
Vauxhall with 19,212 registrations, only 95 ahead of Volkswagen in
third. The same three marques were first, second and third at this
point in 2011 although Ford had only sold 2,076 more units than
Vauxhall, itself 6,513 units ahead of Volkswagen.
The Ford Focus was the best-selling new car in
February, taking 6% of the market, and the Fiesta is the
best-selling new car, year-to-date, with 10,723 units sold
(compared to 8,248 in the same period of 2011).
The figures come at the same time as figures
from Experian named the Fiesta the best-selling used car of
2011.
Although Ford’s share of the new market of
18.76% was down 1.02 ppts from January to February, it was still
2.1 ppts above the December 2011 share and 2.59 ppts above the
figure for February 2011.
MB and BMW
New Mercedes-Benz registrations are up 17.64%
year-to-date, although split between a 11.57% rise in February and
a 20.75% rise in January, maintaining a record 4.85% UK market
share for the German carmaker, ahead of 4.09% for the same period
last year and its 4.22% average across 2011.
Much like the new car market as a whole in
February, Mercedes-Benz enjoyed a bounce in private registrations
as retail sales rose 28.5% in the first two months of the year.
The brand has doubled its vehicle financing since 2009, mainly
on the back of fleet, and corporate sales for the brand were,
unlike the market, not in a relative dip, up 39.4% on the first two
months of 2011.
BMW Group, set to
take the stage at the SMMT summit this summer, has reported
February global sales of 127,634 units (BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce
combined) up 14.2% year-on-year,
following a rampant 2011.
Much of this sales growth was in American and
Asian markets rather than the UK where Mini sales (up 24.8%
worldwide) were up 7.42% but BMW sales (up 12.5% worldwide) dropped
9.2% compared to February 2011.
By region
New sales were down across all regions of the
UK (minus the Isle of Man and Channel Islands) in February, and for
January and February combined, except Scotland where new
registrations rose by 6.76% and 4.5% respectively, compared to the
same periods last year.
Minus the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands,
England accounted for 83.62% of the UK market, down from 84%
February 2011, with much of its share taken up by Northern Ireland
increasing its share by 0.27 ppts to 6.42% and Scotland increasing
its share by 0.14 ppts to 7.21%. Wales remained all-but motionless
at 2.75% of the market.
richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com
