07 December 2015

The November new car registration numbers have been published and the critics are already having a field day with Volkswagen’s performance. Granted, the German firm posted a 20 percent drop compared with the same time last year. However, taking the long view, year to date performance is up on last year by a useful 4.5 percent.

Okay, so the other Volkswagen Group brands also stumbled and it’s hard not to think that a little ‘dieselgate’ scandal didn’t rub off on them, too. What’s missing is the bottom-falling-out-of-the-market moment predicted by certain sections of the mainstream press when the issue first came to light. That’s got to provide some comfort to those at the coal face, especially when many were predicting the issue would spell the end of diesel full stop.

Vauxhall had an especially good November, for example, posting a near 26 percent rise, while volume rival Ford nudged 13 percent compared with November 2014. In fact, the overall figures appear to present a promising picture. Total November registrations are up (3.8 percent), as are year to date figures (6.2 percent). 

So much for the doomsayers. Thanks in part to low interest rates and the availability of competitive finance, consumer confidence in the economy remains strong and, crucially, in the products being sold.

Iain Dooley

Editor, Agenda

Auto Retail Network

Tags: dieselgate, November, registration, SMMT