In brief

25 Mar 2021

The SMMT has called for greater support for private retail uptake of electric vehicles (EVs), as recent research found that businesses are twice as likely as consumers to make the switch from petrol or diesel.

Consumer acceptance of EVs remains low, says the SMMT, because of concerns over affordability, charge point availability and infrastructure reliability. Around one in three households have no dedicated off-street parking, leaving them disproportionately dependent on public charging points – of which around one in 10 are out of order at any given time.

To alleviate fears over range and provide adequate coverage, the SMMT estimates that there needs to be around 2.3m public charging points in service by 2030 – equalling more than 700 new charge points every day until the end of the decade. The current installation rate is approximately 42 a day.

12 Mar 2021

Car insurance claims fell by 26% year-on-year in 2020, as lockdowns and social distancing restrictions forced a reduction in the number of journeys being taken.

This is according to statistics from online comparison site comparethemarket, which revealed that April 2020, the first full month of the first lockdown, saw the steepest drop. Claims reported for incidents occurring in April 2020 fell 63% compared with the month before and decreased by 69% year-on-year.

Claims over the winter months, which historically see a spike due to increased Christmas traffic and tricky weather and road conditions, were also down. Claims reported as occurring during the second lockdown, in November 2020, dropped 30% compared to the same month in 2019. In December, claims also fell 28% year-on-year.

10 Mar 2021

Demand for mid to sub-prime car finance has grown by 112% across the last 12 months, according to motor finance broker Caerus Capital.

As households struggled with the economic crisis, demand for mid to sub-prime finance rocketed, with a 63% increase in applications between first and second lockdowns. This was followed by a 64% increase in the most recent lockdown.

Sub-prime borrowers taking out credit cards also grew by 143% between August and September last year, according to analysis from the credit reference agency Equifax.

Explaining the effect of the pandemic on the demand for sub-prime finance, Ben Maguire, commercial director at Caerus Capital, said: “The pandemic has caused financial hardship for many families and young professionals who have been furloughed or made redundant over the last 12 months.

9 Mar 2021

Dealers need to be ready for a greater level of consumer interest in their finance commissions, driven by increased media interest and new FCA regulations.

This is according to MotoNovo Finance, who highlighted a recent article that suggested consumers could save a typical £1,100 on their car finance by questioning commission rates.

The FCA’s new CONC rules are also intended to ensure consumers have better knowledge of dealers’ finance commissions and are ‘more likely to engage with what is on offer’.

The updated CONC rule requires dealers to ensure customers are aware of the existence of any commission, fee or other remuneration ahead of any finance agreement being finalised. The prominence required in disclosing the existence of commission will inevitably lead to more people asking; ‘how much?’

8 Mar 2021

Vehicle remarketing firm CD Auction has released a new logistics service for dealers, in partnership with Reemaq.

The service will enable users to manage all end-to-end transport moves and administration on one centralised digital platform.

Through an audited network of plated drivers, transporters and inspect and collect services, users can access a national network supplier who bid for each move on a time and cost basis.

Covering all types of vehicle movement, the service provides transparency of all moves in real-time alongside an explicit breakdown of costs.

4 Mar 2021

Sales in the UK new car market declined 35.5% in February, according to the latest statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

With showrooms closed nationwide since 5 January – and in many parts of the country, since December – both private and fleet sector demand fell, by 37.3% and 33.5% respectively. All vehicle segments saw declines apart from luxury saloons, which recorded a 3.8% increase against a statistically very small proportion of the market.

Plug-in vehicles continued to enjoy growth, with BEVs and PHEVs taking a combined 13% market share for the month, up from just 5.7% in February 2020. BEV uptake increased by 40.2% to 3,516, and PHEVs by 52.1% to 3,131 as the industry continues to promote a broad range of lower-emission technologies for consumers.

3 Mar 2021

Online platform cinch has launched a subscription service – cinchCare – offering consumer access to servicing, lifetime warranty and breakdown cover subscription for less than £35 per month.

Available to customers purchasing their vehicles via the cinch platform, cinchCare includes all annual servicing costs, covers all warrantied parts and labour costs, alongside premium roadside cover.

Collaborating with several industry partners to offer the subscription, Cinch plans to launch the service in over 500 locations across the UK.

Craig Purvey, chief customer officer at BCA, believes the service “offers convenience and peace of mind for used car buyers who choose cinch, with an affordable monthly subscription fee covering all servicing and premium roadside cover”.

2 Mar 2021

Several popular plug-in hybrid cars (PHEVS) are 61% less fuel-efficient on average than manufacturers claim, a new study by Which? has revealed, hiking up consumer fuel costs by roughly £400 a year.

The independent lab fuel economy tests by the consumer choice firm revealed that the average fuel economy for the 22 models fell far below the official manufacturer claims, when accounting for 9,000 miles per year.

Based on the difference between manufacturer claims and the independent tests, the PHEVs with the greatest discrepancy were the BMW X5 Plug-in hybrid luxury SUV, the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer MPV and Mercedes Benz GLE Plug-in hybrid.

2 Mar 2021

Electric vehicles (EVs) are now cheaper to insure than their petrol and diesel counterparts, according to analysis from heycar UK.

This is a result of a rising number of insurers entering the EV market, meaning they no longer carry a large price tag when it comes to insurance. heycar touted 2020 as a ‘tipping point’ as data now shows that EVs are consistently cheaper to insure.

Annual insurance trend data from GoCompare found Nissan Leaf drivers paid on average £394 a year in 2020, while owners of the smaller and cheaper to buy Ford Fiesta were charged £550 for their yearly premiums across all petrol and diesel models.

This is compared to 2019, which saw Nissan Leaf drivers pay on average £424 for their yearly premiums, while drivers of the smaller Ford Fiesta paid £602.

1 Mar 2021

The Netherlands, Norway and the UK have all retained their status as the top three most prepared countries for an electric vehicle (EV) revolution across Europe, according to LeasePlan’s 2021 EV Readiness Index.

The index, which presents an analysis of the preparedness of all 22 European countries for the societal transition to EVs, revealed that almost all countries showed an improvement when compared with the previous year.