Recent healthy figures from the Society of
Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) for new car sales in March
and the first quarter of 2012 have shown record growth for several
marques.
Customers seeking the new 12-plate registration in March,
typically the busiest month for new car registrations and
accounting for 18% of the annual new car market, helped sell
372,835 new units, in contrast to the slump in Europe
where sales were down 6.6% for March and 7.3% for the
quarter.
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Beside its position as the pinnacle of
business in the new car sales calendar, both
big brand dealerships and the SMMT had predicted a rise this
March following a slight rise in
total new registrations in January and a rise in retail sales,
despite the usual
overall decline in new sales, in February.
The top two
There was a tangible fight back in the first
quarter from Vauxhall, the second-highest-selling
UK brand, which had been losing ground to Ford and on course to be
overtaken by Volkswagen.
Despite a 7.1% decrease in overall new car
sales for March, compared to the same month in 2011, retail sales
were actually up by 3,701 units, the largest increase of any
brand.
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By GlobalDataSimilarly, overall new car sales decreased by
13.29% for the quarter, year-on-year, but retail sales climbed by
3,211 units, again, the largest increase of any brand.
“The tide is turning for Vauxhall,” said
Duncan Aldred, the company’s chairman and managing director
Ford, however, remained on
top of the UK market with new car sales up 3.5%, year-on-year, to
82,848 units in Q1, with a market share of 14.7%.
The US car giant was slightly less buoyant in
March, which saw 1.9% growth, year-on-year, and recorded 14.44%
market share with 53,830 new vehicles sold.
The Fiesta remained the UK’s biggest-selling
model for March (22,267 new sales) and Q1 (33,390 new sales), while
the Focus sold 15,086 units in March putting it in third place
behind the Vauxhall Corsa, which sold 17,271 units.
European brands
Mercedes-Benz has posted “a
record first quarter for passenger cars; it’s the best-ever
quarterly result in our history” according to Marcus Breitschwerdt,
UK president and CEO of the brand.
The German carmaker sold 16,166 units in
March, a 10.2% rise, year-on-year; and 25,348 units in Q1, a 12.7%
rise, as it posted a record 4.5% market share in the UK.
The first three months of the year included
9,171 private customer purchases, a rise of approximately 30%
according to Mercedes-Benz, though this was still outstripped by
10,435 fleet registrations, rising 22%, and in which
the manufacturer has put much stock.
“Our financial services division is providing
these customers with competitive finance packages too, making a new
Mercedes an affordable alternative to a more mainstream choice,”
said Breitschwerdt.
Following 2011, in which
Peugeot
lost 13.1% in new car sales (or 14,335 units), the first
quarter of 2012 saw the French brand sell 29,411 units, and 18,969
units in March alone, 3.2% more than the same period last year.
This included a 28% increase in sales of the
107 model and a 6.3% increase in fleet sales.
Though the Volkswagen Group,
including Audi, Skoda and Seat, supplied 2.16m vehicles worldwide,
1.36m of which were Volkswagen passenger cars, much of its growth
was in North America, China and Russia.
“Uncertainty continues, particularly on the
markets of Western Europe,” said Christian Klingler, group board
member for sales. This was exemplified by Seat,
which dropped 11.6% year-on-year in first-quarter sales to 80,100
units, worldwide.
Brand-mate Škoda, however,
posted double-digit growth in Western Europe as March proved the
best-ever sales month for the marquee with 95,200 vehicles sold.
Similarly, 242,700 vehicles sold in January to March gave Škoda its
best-ever sales quarter.
In the UK, Škoda registrations were up 24%, Q1
2012 compared to Q1 2011, with 14,000 vehicles sold.
Japanese and Korean
brands
Nissan recorded 23,185 new
registrations in March, 16% up compared to the same month in 2011,
and a 5.6% market share for the month.
March was a best-ever sales month for the
brand’s two British-manufactured crossover models the Qashqai,
selling 8,487 units, and Juke, selling 5,350 units.
In the 12 months to March the Japanese brand
took a company-record market share of 5.1% and sold 111,893 units,
making it the best year for Nissan sales in the UK since 2003.
Following the extension of its ‘no VAT’ deals on PCP offers,
Suzuki’s market share of 1.5% in March was the
brand’s best in three years on its way to 7,711 registrations in
the quarter, a 12.5% rise, year-on-year.
Hyundai experienced its best
first quarter for new car sales in the UK since the scrappage
scheme with 17,761 registrations and a market share of 3.15%
Tony Whitehorn, president and CEO of Hyundai
Motor UK ascribed the success to the brand’s product range and
promised “Hyundai is poised to offer a model to suit every need and
every pocket.”
richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com
