Car Makers Premier League - May 2010

It’s time once more for the Car Makers Premier League where each and every month we examine the top 20 manufacturers with regard to units registered and see just how they look when compared with the previous month. Who are the Chelsea’s, Man United’s and Arsenal’s at the top and the Portsmouth’s, Burnley’s and Hull’s bringing up the rear? At the end of the year who will be crowned champion? Who will drop out of the top 20 as the year unfolds and which high achievers will be promoted?

Carrying on with the season and May’s statistics (based on the SMMT figures for UK new car registrations in May 2010) continue the encouraging theme of recent months with all but three of the top twenty manufacturers being able to post an increase on May 2009. The headline figure for the month is a 13.5% increase but it ought to be remembered that the market was already down 24.8% in May 2009 on the year before. Overall the top 15 positions all outperformed the market this month.

March was the last month for scrappage but registrations carried forward are still trickling into the figures with just under 3% of May’s registrations being down to the scheme. What a difference the post-scrappage marketplace has made to the league with recent heavyweights Hyundai and Kia dropping to 6th and 11th positions respectively although both still managed double digit increases (38% and 26%).

This month there’s a new sheriff in town as Renault storm to the top with an astonishing 132% increase on this time last year. 12 months ago who was predicting that? This month we lose Seat who once again swaps places with Land Rover who rocket back in at number 2 with a 66% rise on last May.

More bad news this month for Honda, who now languish in last place with a dismal 23% drop in registration on last May, which of course was already depressed.

All in all not a bad month and certainly not as bad as many were predicting but with the SMMT expecting the coming months to be “extremely challenging” (or in football parlance “squeaky bum time”) we shall be keeping a keen eye on developments.

So we suspect that really is it for scrappage as the influence on June’s figures should be negligible, so car makers you really are on your own now lads.

POS	Manufacturer	May 2009	May 2010	Diff	%
1(4)		2941	6812	3871	132
2(-)		1630	2713	1083	66
3(6)		1986	2969	983	49
4(10)		4562	6734	2172	48
5(8)		2584	3694	1110	43
6(3)		3325	4581	1256	38
7(5)		2650	3445	795	30
8(7)		3188	4093	905	28
9(9)		6994	8903	1909	27
10(11)		7006	8881	1875	27
11(1)		3331	4194	863	26
12(16)		2634	3256	622	24
13(18)		15386	17771	2385	16
14(13)		7165	8208	1043	15
15(12)		11989	13516	1527	13
16(14)		4694	5280	586	12
17(15)		5305	5327	22	0
18(19)		22293	21300	(993)	(4)
19(17)		7081	6276	(805)	(11)
20(20)		5822	4470	(1352)	(23)