The automotive industry briefing
The latest news, views and numbers you need to know this month
News in Numbers
5,000
In recent years NavCIS has helped the police seize more than 5,000 vehicles, with a combined value of more than £75 million
25%
The RAC Dealer Network reported an increase in consumer demand of 25% year-on-year growth in revenues from warranty premiums during 2021
13%
Male drivers are more reliant on satnav than women, 13% of male drivers use a satnav every time they drive, in comparison to only 8% of women, a survey by Zuto found
£596
The cost of a breakdown for an EV is 2.7 times more than that of an ICE vehicle – £221 per incident (excluding accidents) compared with £596, a survey by Total Motion found
13%
Car finance applications, including PCP and HP, rose by 13% month-on-month in March, marking the highest rate in March since 2019, according to Experian
Performance
UK car loan applications hit highs: Experian
Car finance applications, including Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and Hire Purchase (HP), rose by 13% month-on-month in March as the new ‘22’ plate launched, marking the highest rate in March since 2019, according to Experian.
Carmakers treble battery range in a decade: SMMT
Massive investment by carmakers since 2011 means today’s electric vehicle buyers can benefit from more than three times the battery range compared with a decade ago, according to new research by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
BVRLA leasing fleet surpasses pre-Covid levels
The UK’s leasing fleet grew 5.1% in 2021 to pass pre-pandemic levels as vans continue to drive the recovery of the sector, according to the British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association.
UK consumer car finance volumes up by 24%
The consumer car finance market reported new business volumes up in February 2022 by 24% compared with the same month in 2021. The corresponding value of new business grew by 39% over the same period, according to the FLA.
UK car market down 14.3% in March
The UK new car market fell by 14.3% to 243,479 units in March, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Quotes
As a centralised, specialist police capability, we are dedicated to developing and sharing intelligence to tackle vehicle finance crime and associated serious organised crime.
DCI Brett Mallon, Head of the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service. NaVCIS recently announced its partnership with Synectics Solutions, a provider of IT to detect and prevent fraud and wider economic crime.
British Ports Association chief executive Richard Ballantyne, following UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement that the Freeports selection process will see the first sites in England set up by the end of 2021:
“This is a welcome development and by being more inclusive in terms of the number of freeports there might be, the government can now explore how to better deliver on its levelling up agenda without picking regions over each other. Coastal communities are often in areas of high deprivation and have also experienced challenges resulting from the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown so this potentially transformative policy will be welcomed across a range of suitable locations.”
Our target remains the same – to work with dealers who both share the RAC’s ethos of placing the customer first and are committed to being good ambassadors for the brand.
Sean Kent, European Director of Automotive for Assurant, which partners with the RAC in the warranty and aftersales market. The RAC Dealer Network recently announced a fresh recruitment drive.
In my previous life, I owned and managed commercial garage workshops and it is no exaggeration to say that I have seen hundreds of unsafe vehicles kept off the road by the annual MOT test.
Peter Golding, managing director of the fleet management software company FleetCheck. Golding was responding to news of government plans to double MOT test intervals to every two years.