SMTA Monthly Bulletin September 2022

SEPTEMBER 2022

SMTA recently held it’s second ‘Females in Focus’ lunchtime event at the stunning Glasgow Grand Central Hotel. We’d like to thank Central Car Auctions for their generosity as headline sponsors, Electude as drinks reception sponsors and our supporting sponsors; Motonovo Finance, Dingbro, Lawgistics and Textar – And of course everyone who attended. THANK YOU!

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AUCTION TRADE BODY NAMA REPORTS ‘STABLE’ USED CAR MARKET

The body, which sells 95% of all cars in the wholesale sector, said demand in the wholesale sector had fallen slightly but in line with expectation.

“As a whole, however, there are enough buyers out there interested in buying stock”, said Paul Hill National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA) spokesman, after a meeting was held this week with key industry figureheads to discuss current industry issues.

Over the last four weeks of trading the retail market has reported fall in demand from consumers, in comparison to the previous four, which is expected from retailers. The well documented issues relating to supply, driving the value of used car values up, has maintained this level and appears to be steady. Demand for diesel is still reducing, whilst petrol and BEV remain as the markets focal point.

The commercial vehicle market remains

robust, and demand is strong, reflecting the seasonality of the market share.

NAMA Members highlighted how independent buyers continue to target good condition and high-quality LCVs. Overall, values are expected to fall over the coming

KNOCKHILL NOMINATED FOR PRESTIGIOUS SCOTTISH THISTLE AWARD

Knockhill Circuit has been nominated for the Scottish Thistle Awards’ Outstanding Sporting Event for its 2022 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship event.

The Scottish Thistle Awards has been recognising and celebrating the elite of the Scottish tourism, hospitality and events industry for over 25 years, with the efforts of regional and national winners honoured.

The awards will see a panel of industry experts judge which sporting event will take the accolade, but the nomination itself reflects and champions the relentless hard work and effort that the whole team at Knockhill puts into its events, in particular

how the circuit and its staff have adapted to the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stuart Gray, Knockhill Director of Events, said: “A huge thanks to all the Knockhill team and everyone who helped deliver these great events. They were pretty special after everything we’ve been through in the last three years.

“We will find out if we’ve won the category in February 2023, but win or not, it’s fantastic to

have been recognised by the industry.”

Alan Gow, BTCC Chief Executive, said: “This is a real feather in the cap for Knockhill – and the BTCC – to have been nominated for such a prestigious award and is testament to the great effort that everyone at the venue puts into their event. We’re delighted that Knockhill's hard work is being recognised and proud that our event is part of the nomination.”

Members of the National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA) are reporting a stable market for used cars as it moves into the final quarter of 2022.

Read the full article at Motor Trader

Join hundreds of guests from all areas of the motor trade to be part of the Scottish motoring event of the year. We promise good food, great company and a packed evening of awards and a truly inspirational guest speaker and a chance to win some great prizes on the night (all proceeds going to our charity partners

TRADING PATTERNS”

LCV values averaged £9,864 at BCA in August, down from the figure of £10,220 reported by BCA in July, but still ahead of May and June.

While average values shifted, BCA said that this was largely a result of the change in model mix that is typical at this time of year.

Performance against guide prices improved by nearly two percentage points to 97.5% over the month and year-on-year values were virtually level, with just a £10 differential between August 2021 and August 2022.

Sale conversion rates lifted during August and average weekly values steadily improved during the month, rising above £10,000 in the final week of August.

Stuart Pearson, BCA COO UK said: “The overall picture in the LCV market suggests a settling into more familiar trading patterns as the constraints imposed by the pandemic have receded. Admittedly many economic pressures remain on those small businesses that typically purchase used LCVs at retail, but this is balanced by a shortage of the best-quality, forecourt ready stock in the wholesale sector.

“The ongoing demand for retail quality light commercials means there is plenty of competition for the best examples reaching the market, exacerbated in August as volumes of corporate stock tend to be lower. The few late-plate light commercials on offer can make exceptional values and, as always, the best graded vans with a good specification and in an attractive retail colour remain very desirable.

IN AUGUST CHINESE EV SALES SOAR AS EUROPEAN CAR REGISTRATIONS GROW 3.5% IN AUGUST

Registrations of Chinese-built electric vehicles (EV) soared 78% across Europe during August as overall vehicle registrations rose for the first time in 2022.

In the latest market data report published by Jato Dynamics global analyst Felipe Munoz described Chinese OEMs’ market share growth to 20% – making it the second-biggest EV producer, behind Germany’s 28% share –as an early indicator of how “sooner or later, they will play a key role in the global market”.

Currently most of the cars made in China were not produced by Chinese OEMs, however almost half were manufactured by Tesla, while the Dacia Spring and several MG models also contributed to the total.

In August, only 18% of EVs made in China and registered in Europe were sold under a Chinese brand.

Last month, overall market volumes grew by 3.5% to 739,037 units across the 27 European new car markets analysed by Jato.

“It’s becoming a familiar refrain, but the basics are critical in the current market, so vendors should work closely with their remarketing partner to ensure that their LCVs are realistically valued, properly prepared and graded, and accurately catalogued to attract the right buyers.

“Meanwhile, the new LCV market continues to face substantial challenges, with new sales falling by nearly 25% in August as the sector faces ongoing supply chain issues and long delivery times. The wholesale used sector remains the best source of stock for professional buyers and this is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.”

Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the UK all delivered growth during the month, with just six countries experiencing declines.

Year-to-date volumes remain down on a challenging 2021, however, remaining 12% down at 7.14 million units.

NOVEMBER MOT FIGURES

POST TOWN

SUM OF FORECAST TO EXPIRE

SUM OF EXPIRED TYPICAL

SUM OF CHANGE FROM TYPICAL

CHANGE FROM TYPICAL [%]

ABERDEEN 22143 16772 5371 32.02%

DUMFRIES 6640 5235 1405 26.84%

DUNDEE 11408 8720 2688 30.83%

EDINBURGH 36219 27270 8949 32.82%

FALKIRK 12255 9054 3201 35.35%

GLASGOW 45322 35315 10007 28.34%

HEBRIDES 1392 1011 381 37.69%

INVERNESS 12799 9140 3659 40.03%

KILMARNOCK 15537 11664 3873 33.20%

KIRKCALDY 15667 12084 3583 29.65%

KIRKWALL 2553 1979 574 29.00%

LERWICK 1019 813 206 25.34%

MOTHERWELL 14481 10771 3710 34.44%

PAISLEY 13676 10230 3446 33.69%

PERTH 8448 6187 2261 36.54%

TWEEDDALE 5382 4186 1196 28.57%

TOTAL 224941 170431

Article courtesy of Motortrader

Revealed: The used car stock that was

over the

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Vauxhall launches electric performance sub-brand GSe

Article courtesy of Motortrader

karen.thompson@smta.co.uk

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