SMTA Monthly Bulletin August 2023

Your monthly news round-up of the Scottish Motor Industry

AUGUST 2023

FEMALES IN FOCUS 2023

FRIDAY 22ND SEPT

GRAND CENTRAL HOTEL, GLASGOW

SMTA is delighted to host our third Females in Focus lunch this year at Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on Friday 22nd September 2023. This lunch aims to bring together women (and men!) from all across Scotland to listen to our panel of inspiring women.

Our Headline Speaker is Ann-Maree Morrison MBE who founded and ran Labels4Kids, an ecommerce labelling business, for 19 years. The business was sold in September 2022 and with now with Ann-Maree’s ecommerce, Chartered Accounting and Management Consulting background she consults and mentors in Ecommerce for SMEs.

We will also be presenting our ‘Nan Lindsay Award’ at this event, Nan was SMTA’s first and so far only female President who sadly passed away in 2019. SMTA thought it fitting to create an award in her honour and we created the ‘Nan Lindsay Award’ which is given to an outstanding female in the trade who has established themselves as a strong woman in business who has shown ambition and leadership.

A nomination form can be found on our website or contact karen. thompson@smta.co.uk for more information.

TICKETS

Table of 8 – £500 + VAT

Individual tickets – £70 + VAT To book please email: karen.thompson@smta.co.uk

Trade Association

The approved insurance broker to the Scottish Motor

USED CAR MARKET ELECTRIFYING AS EV SALES SOAR IN 2ND QUARTER

remains -9.9% below 2019 levels, its recovery continues apace.2

y UK used car market grows 4.1% in Q2 2023, with more than 1.8 million units changing hands.

y Sales of used battery electric vehicles (BEVs) soar by 81.8%, accounting for record 1.7% market share.

y First half transactions also up 4.1% on weak 2022 volumes, but market remains -9.2% behind prepandemic 2019.

The UK’s used car market rose by 4.1% during the second quarter of the year, with 1,832,267 units changing hands, according to the latest figures published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The increase equates to an additional 72,583 transactions compared with the same period in 2022, reflecting sustained growth in the new car market and improving availability.1 The easing of supply chain disruptions has driven sales growth in every month so far this year and, although the Q2 market

Used battery electric vehicle (BEVs) sales continued to soar in the second quarter, growing by 81.8% to 30,645 units, representing 1.7% of the market – a new record – up from 1.0% last year. Double-digit growth also continued for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and hybrids (HEVs), up 11.4% to 18,437 units and 29.5% to 53,634 units respectively. The rising proportion of electrified vehicles meant that market share for conventionally powered cars marginally fell to 94.3% from 95.7% last year, even though volumes of petrol and diesel cars saw growth of 2.5% and 2.8% respectively. 3

Black retained its position as the most popular colour choice for the 10th quarter in a row, representing more than one in five (21.3%) transactions. It was followed by grey and blue in second and third places with respective 16.9% and 16.3% market shares.

Superminis remained the best-selling used vehicle type, making up 31.5% of transactions and growing by 4.4% to 576,980 units. This was followed by lower medium, accounting for 26.5% of the market, while dual purpose cars rounded off the top three with a 15.1% share.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, It’s great to see a recharged new car sector supporting demand for used cars and, in particular, helping more people to get behind the wheel of an electric vehicle. Meeting the undoubted appetite for pre-owned EVs will depend on sustaining a buoyant new car market and on the provision of accessible, reliable charging infrastructure powered by affordable, green energy. This, in turn, will allow more people to drive zero at a price point suited to them, helping accelerate delivery of our environmental goals.

STAYCATION-FRIENDLY MODELS SUCH AS EVOQUE AND SPORTAGE PROVED FASTESTSELLING IN JULY

Affordable family cars dominated the latest league table from Dealer Auction’s Retail Margin Monitor, reflecting the fact that customers likely made decisions based on summer holiday considerations.

Land Rover’s Range Rover Evoque retained its number one position in July, with an average retail margin of £3,510 with the Citroën Grand C4 Picasso people-carrier, Toyota RAV4 SUV and Kia Sportage SUV’s retail margins also

secured each a place in the top 10.

Dealer Auction said the Grand C4 Picasso stood out with an average Auto Trader days to sell of 29 and online automotive marketplace Auto Trader Retail Rating of 92 –

making it the third fastest-selling and second highest-rated model in July’s league table.

The Kia Sportage also made its first-ever appearance in the top 10, taking the tenth spot for average retail margin, with an average days to sell of 28 – making it the month’s second fastest-selling model.

TRUE COST OF EV OWNERSHIP TO COME UNDER SCRUTINY

The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) is aiming to create the ‘definitive picture’ when it comes to comparing the service, maintenance and repair (SMR) costs of electric vehicles (EV) compared to their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts.

AFP chair Paul Hollick said that much of the current data and information surrounding the subject was incomplete, inconsistent or contradictory – and that the objective was to cut through the noise to provide something as close as possible to a conclusive guide.

“There’s been an assumption ever since EVs

started appearing on fleets that their SMR would be substantially cheaper than petrol and diesel cars and vans because there are fewer moving and wear parts. However, real world data has until recently been in short supply because comparatively few fleets have been operating EVs for any length of time.

Used car values have eased from a like-for-like increase of 2.8% year-on-year (YoY) in July, to 1.5% in August..

According to the latest data from Auto Trader’s Retail Price Index, prices have also softened on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, by just -0.1%.

However, Auto Trader said that these headline figures mask an “exceptionally nuanced market”, with a significant disparity between age cohorts and fuel types, which is being driven by large variances in market dynamics.

Older vehicles are outperforming the overall market recording strong levels of price

growth. Those aged between 10-15-years-old have seen values increase 11% YoY this month, marking the highest rate of growth in eight months. With an average value of £6,629, these cars are currently worth more than ever before.

The performance is the result of very strong consumer appetite for older and more affordable vehicles, Auto Trader reproted, with the current levels of demand growth for 10-15-year-old cars (up 10.9% YoY) outpacing levels of supply growth (up 7.9% YoY).

“Various sources have been issuing what you might call work-in-progress SMR data over the last year or more, providing a snapshot picture of their experiences with EVs but it has been difficult to build a consistent picture. Some are reporting that SMR profiles are cheaper than ICE vehicles, as expected, but others have seen a more complex picture across different models and types of vehicle, especially when it comes to the wear and prices of EV tyres. Read the full article at AM Online

Retail prices of younger models have dipped this month, with the average value (£36,862) of ‘nearly new’ models (those aged up to a year-old) contracting -0.5% YoY so far in August. Demand for this age group remains strong, increasing 37.9% on August 2022, but it’s struggling to keep pace with the large volume of cars entering the market, which are up 53.2% over the same period (albeit still down circa 50% on pre-pandemic levels). This is being fuelled by the gradual postpandemic new car market recovery.

OLDER USED CARS WORTH MORE THAN EVER BEFORE IN “NUANCED MARKET”

MOT FORECAST VOLUMES SEPTEMBER 2023

TRADE SNIPPETS

Munro Vehicles' all-electric, clean-sheet 4x4 makes production debut

Article courtesy of AM Online

Chery aims for annual UK sales of 15,000 with Omoda 5 model

Article courtesy of Motortrader

Toyota halts Aygo X and Yaris production due to parts shortage

Article courtesy of CarDealer Magazine

Scam dealership SR Vans uses fake Google reviews and location to dupe car buyers

Article courtesy of CarDealer Magazine

House of Lords to scrutinise Govt plan for 2030 ICE new car ban

Article courtesy of AM Online

Vehicles in Video expands sales team and restructures management

Article courtesy of Motortrader

FUEL TYPE

TOP 10 MARQUES

TOP 10 CARS

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NOW!

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WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR GARAGE TO FEATURE IN SMTA’S MAGAZINE?

SMTA produces a quarterly magazine to all our members, if you haven’t got one yet our Territory Account Managers will be visiting your garage soon with a copy for you.

If you’d like your garage to feature please contact: karen.thompson@smta.co.uk

IMPORTANT

–

SMTA CONTACT HOURS CHANGE

From 31st July 2023 - SMTA office telephone contact hours are changing and will now be open from 8am-4pm.

Scotsure Warranty will remain the same and be open as usual from 9am-5pm.

SMTA is proud to support:

SMTA CONTACTS

ACCOUNT ENQUIRIES:

Telephone – 0131 331 5510

Email – accounts@smta.co.uk

MEMBERSHIP ENQUIRIES/ TRADING PARTNERS:

Norman Stirling – 07917 095014

Membership Development Manager

Marcus Lawrence – 07375 057561

Territory Account Manager, Western Region

Stuart Kennedy – 07375 057560

Territory Account Manager, Northern Region

MOT QMS ENQUIRIES

David Innes – 07789 264228

Operations Manager, Support Services

Gordon Laing – 07799 732124

Support Services Consultant

Peter Stuart – 07729 045666

Support Services Consultant

APPRENTICE TRAINING ENQUIRIES

Fraser Miller – 07789 264229

Apprentice Training Manager

Kevin Millar – 07593 800386

Kickstart Gateway Project Manager

EMPLOYMENT LAW ENQUIRIES

Moira Gaynor – 0131 331 5150

Company Secretary/Finance Manager

SCOTSURE WARRANTY:

Claims and Enquiries – 0131 331 5512

EVENTS & MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

Karen Thompson – 07922 079889

Events & Media Manager

ADVERTISING/SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES:

Wendy Hennessy – 07974 380140

Scottish Motor Trade Association Ltd., Palmerston House, 10 The Loan, South Queensferry EH30 9NS

Telephone: 0131 331 5510

www.smta.co.uk