Feelgood issue fuels car sales boom

We’ve all gone car crazy! Or at least that is what the most recent motor market sales figures recommend.

The number of new vehicles registered in the very first half of the year soared by a lot more than 10% to practically 3 million – the greatest half-yearly figure because 2005.

There was a jump of 6.2% in new cars in June alone to 228,291, according to the Society of Motor Companies and Traders (SMMT), the motor trade association.

Customer self-confidence

Now, we all like a flash new motor, but what’s going on?

Mike Hawes, the SMMT’s chief executive puts the surge in new auto sales down to a surge in customer confidence. And he has a point. The European Commission’s Economic Sentiment Index (ESI) for the UK puts customer confidence at a record higher.

Men and women among the ages of 16 and 25 are specifically optimistic, with self-confidence levels at the highest given that data began in 1990. But the 30-49 and 50-64 age groups are also fairly buoyant, with confidence at its highest level because 1998.

Shopping spree

The development in retail sales would appear to reinforce the index.

Sales went up in June for the sixth consecutive month, as shoppers hit the high street. Furniture and carpets were among the big sellers, possibly on the back of a sturdy housing industry.

Forecourt attraction

But it is also fair to say that there are some appealing delivers on the forecourt as companies attempt to increase their sales figures.

Ford, for example, is giving a discount of £500 on numerous of its most common models amongst now and the finish of the year.

Then there are the finance deals. There are a lot of % finance provides available from auto dealers. Personal loan rates have also dropped, in some instances to about 4% for borrowing of £7.500 – £15,000.

You can even play the credit card marketplace and bag your self a % obtain card that charges zero interest for as lengthy as 19 months. In other words, you can borrow income for totally free to spend for your new vehicle.

Well-known models

The Ford Fiesta is far and away the most well-liked vehicle on the road, with 70,153 sales in the year to date. In second place is the Ford Focus at 44,754.

The Vauxhall Corsa isn’t far behind at 42,285. Then it is the Volkswagen Golf (38,142) and the Vauxhall Astra (32,311).

Green for go

But green vehicles are also fuelling the boom in sales.

Is it time to purchase a hybrid vehicle

New registrations of vehicles that run on option fuel had been up a whopping 51.3% in the 1st 6 months of 2014. But that is not all. The quantity of new registrations of purely electric cars, such as the Nissan Leaf, much more than doubled.

Far more of us may well be choosing green automobiles but makers are also investing in technology to increase the environmental impact of ordinary cars.

The C02 output for the typical new auto dropped by 6.5% in between the initial quarter of 2012 (134.6g/km) and the second quarter of 2014 (125.8g/km).

Fuel efficiency

The fall in emissions is partly due to greater fuel efficiency.

The average new automobile registered so far in 2014 returns 57.4mpg on the combined cycle compared with 54.5mpg in 2012. In other words, you can save funds and the planet when you purchase a new set of wheels.

No wonder sales are up.

Feelgood issue fuels car sales boom