The economics of new car sales

The economics of new car sales

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Discussion

thelawnet

Original Poster:

1,539 posts

155 months

Tuesday 18th November 2014
quotequote all
Ozzie Osmond said:
2013 figures are clearly dodgy.

Specialist sports cars

Audi TT 6,870
Mercedes-Benz SLK 5,310
Volkswagen Scirocco 5,029
Mazda MX-5 3,285
BMW 6 Series 2,902

So Porsche didn't sell any cars in 2013, yet we're told they've sold 7,000 in 2014 already.
Clearly nonsense.
Just the top five.

And Porsche's biggest seller was the Cayenne, which isn't a sports car.

dwol

100 posts

133 months

Tuesday 18th November 2014
quotequote all
cj2013 said:
The biggest increase in MPG since then is with petrol engines more than diesel, anyway, as you could get 60+ mpg from AX's and 50+ from the old XUD peugeot/citroens 20+ years ago, but you can get closer to 50mpg from a 1.6 petrol which was unthinkable 15 years ago
Well my mapped vrs is actually more economical than the mk1 2.0 mondeo I once had with nearly double the power so agreed on that one.

Justin Case

2,195 posts

134 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
quotequote all
thelawnet said:
And how do a million people a year afford to pay £10k+ on new cars?

They can't. 75% are on finance, most of these on PCP, with hire purchase now something of a relic. £200 a month and the sticker price is basically irrelevant.
More to the point how can 750,000 people every year (probably at least 2 million in total as most PCPs run over 3 years) afford to spend £200 per month with nothing to show for it at the end. Yes I know that if you buy a car it depreciates and you might have to borrow money and pay interest, but you can easily get off the treadmill in a realitively short space of time.

Pints

18,444 posts

194 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
quotequote all
Thankyou4calling said:
Very interesting figures.

I'm surprised Mercedes is behind BMW and Audi but still a lot of cars.

Jaguar also surprises me. It's been quite a few years since the Purchase by TATA and they threaten to produce some good numbers but I'd say 16,000 is dissapointing considering the investment and marketing. Lease deals on Jaguars are nowhere near as good as the German brands so perhaps there goal is profit per unit rather than outright volume.
I was quite looking forward to a new Jaguar XE for a company car next year, but when the monthly costs were released recently it made my eyes water. I was expecting it to be close to the equivalent BMW but I'd need to dig deep to make up the difference.
That will presumably explain the lower registration figures across the range.

Butter Face

30,277 posts

160 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
quotequote all
nickfrog said:
Butter Face said:
Great news for the Renault group, from 40k+ in 2012 to 60k+ in 2013 to 70k+ so far this year. Very good news!
I like your positivity. On the other hand, being so far behind Peugoat is a bit embarrassing.
Positivity is my middle name.

I won't worry about looking the figures up as I think it's safe to assume that Renault were even further behind for the last 4 years so to get back to this stage is positive. RUK do plan to pass them next year so we'll see how that goes! hehe

MJK 24

5,648 posts

236 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
quotequote all
Ozzie Osmond said:
"1,000 Other British"

Lotus really are in trouble, after you've deducted the Morgans, Caterhams etc.
Not really. The UK market accounts for less than 10% of production.

By your logic, Cadillac really are in trouble.

Fox-

13,228 posts

246 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
quotequote all
thelawnet said:
Just the top five.

And Porsche's biggest seller was the Cayenne, which isn't a sports car.
Neither is the VW Golf, oh sorry, Scirocco.

Sump

5,484 posts

167 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
quotequote all
SpeckledJim said:
Jim AK said:
Am I reading that right, 16 Jags & 1 Bentley?

If I am it's cobblers as I know my boss isn't the only person in country to have got one this year. V8 Flying Spur if anyone cares, replacing W12 Flying Spur.

If I'm not, my village is calling!!
No, you're right. Mercedes have only sold 108 cars this year.

Amazing...
rofl

thelawnet

Original Poster:

1,539 posts

155 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
quotequote all
Thankyou4calling said:
Very interesting figures.

I'm surprised Mercedes is behind BMW and Audi but still a lot of cars.

Jaguar also surprises me. It's been quite a few years since the Purchase by TATA and they threaten to produce some good numbers but I'd say 16,000 is dissapointing considering the investment and marketing. Lease deals on Jaguars are nowhere near as good as the German brands so perhaps there goal is profit per unit rather than outright volume.
Jaguar's market was relatively small due to the lack of a 3-series-sized car, total volume in the markets they were competing in was only 100k or so. Still not great, of course - clearly people choose the Merc/Beemer over the Jaaaaaaaag, but it's not as bad as it seems.

CarlT

3,423 posts

247 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
quotequote all
andburg said:
amazes me that vauxhall sell so many cars.
Registrations are not always sales....

E30M3SE

8,466 posts

196 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
quotequote all
CarlT said:
andburg said:
amazes me that vauxhall sell so many cars.
Registrations are not always sales....
TooMany2cvs said:
E30M3SE said:
thelawnet said:
So far this year:

2.14 million cars sold
You mean registrations, right?
<wide-eyed innocence>
You mean there's a difference...? <shock, horror>
whistle

Sheepshanks

32,704 posts

119 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
quotequote all
CarlT said:
Registrations are not always sales....
Pre-reg numbers have to be declared and so are pretty tiny these days.

fatboy b

9,492 posts

216 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
quotequote all
Now I know why not to expect good service from an Audi dealer. With that many sales, they don't need to care.

nickfrog

21,056 posts

217 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
quotequote all
Butter Face said:
nickfrog said:
Butter Face said:
Great news for the Renault group, from 40k+ in 2012 to 60k+ in 2013 to 70k+ so far this year. Very good news!
I like your positivity. On the other hand, being so far behind Peugoat is a bit embarrassing.
Positivity is my middle name.

I won't worry about looking the figures up as I think it's safe to assume that Renault were even further behind for the last 4 years so to get back to this stage is positive. RUK do plan to pass them next year so we'll see how that goes! hehe
Capture selling well I assume ? Great product, well priced. Simples!

Willy Nilly

12,511 posts

167 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
quotequote all
Do we know what the figures are for new, private sales rather than fleet sales? It would be interesting to know what people buy when it's their own money.

CarlT

3,423 posts

247 months

Thursday 20th November 2014
quotequote all
Sheepshanks said:
CarlT said:
Registrations are not always sales....
Pre-reg numbers have to be declared and so are pretty tiny these days.
Only if they are not kept for 90 days wink

daemon

35,779 posts

197 months

Thursday 20th November 2014
quotequote all
thelawnet said:
Whether these deals are actually good for the consumer is going to be a mystery to most people, and I doubt they care. Certainly 'personal finance education' is not really something the government wants to encourage when those millions of new cars a year are pumping billions into the economy....
You seem to see this as a problem?

Whats the issue? Your depreciation, warranty and moreoften your servicing wrapped up into a controlled monthly payment.

If thats worth £200 a month to someone or some family then whats the issue?

People generally get paid monthly, their mortgage is monthly, as are electric bills, phone bills, SKY bills, mobile phone bills, etc, etc, so why not the car?

And please dont quote the "cant afford it" or "fooling themselves" or "keep up with the jones" or "costing them a fortune" arguments. Try to be original.

daemon

35,779 posts

197 months

Thursday 20th November 2014
quotequote all
GSE said:
minghis said:
They bang 'em out to hire companies and fleets at half the cost of retail, that's most of them. The rest are sold to the older generation who for some reason aspire to them. Weird.
Almost as weird as those who insist on driving nothing but a car with a German badge so as they can bask in the glory of their superior dashboard plastics and think that they can fool the Neighbours in to thinking that they are doing well in life.
Or maybe you've a chip on your shoulder and they just happen to like the brand they drive?

daemon

35,779 posts

197 months

Thursday 20th November 2014
quotequote all
Justin Case said:
More to the point how can 750,000 people every year (probably at least 2 million in total as most PCPs run over 3 years) afford to spend £200 per month with nothing to show for it at the end. Yes I know that if you buy a car it depreciates and you might have to borrow money and pay interest, but you can easily get off the treadmill in a realitively short space of time.
They have something to show for it - a car on their drive that takes them to work, takes the kids to school, takes the family out at the weekend and isnt going to give them any surprise big bills - such as depreciation or unexpected maintenance - and will do exactly what it says on the tin for them.

If you bought a £10K used car for cash and sold it for £5K three years later (and you'd be doing well), you're going to suffer £138 a month in depreciation anyway, plus maintenance, plus MOT, plus servicing. So is £200 a month much of a hardship?

daemon

35,779 posts

197 months

Thursday 20th November 2014
quotequote all
Pints said:
I was quite looking forward to a new Jaguar XE for a company car next year, but when the monthly costs were released recently it made my eyes water. I was expecting it to be close to the equivalent BMW but I'd need to dig deep to make up the difference.
That will presumably explain the lower registration figures across the range.
Its a problem Jag have always had. I looked at the XF when it came out and they were doing their whole "no discount" thing, but their predicted residuals on their PCP deals were naff so you could buy a 5 series for the same monthly payments yet it was £6K more expensive on paper.