Car registrations break 2.2 million mark, return to pre-recession levels

摘要

CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR 2013 appear to show that consumer confidence is increasing, with 2,264,737 cars registered in 2013, up 10.8 per cent on 2012. This exceeds the SMMT's 2.25 million forecast for the year and is the highest annual registration total since 2007. December was the 22nd consecutive monthly rise. With an additional 600 extra cars registered per day in 2013 than in the previous year, this means the UK is Europe's second largest car market and the only one to grow consistently throughout the year. The good news for the tyre business is that there is usually a correlation between car registrations and tyre purchasing and that this - due to OE trends - often leads to larger sized, higher value tyre sales (see "Entering a recovery?" in January 2014's edition of Tyres & Accessories for more). The downside for retailers at least is that there is usually a three to four year time lag before this is seen in the replacement market. Of course the large tyre manufacturers supplying the carmakers direct feel the benefit much quicker.