It’s time once more for the Car Makers Premier League where each and every month we examine the top 20 manufacturers by number of units registered and see just how they look when compared with the previous month. 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 Septembers’ statistics (based on the SMMT figures for UK new car registrations in September 2010) turned out to be better than a lot of people in the trade were expecting, with the headline figure for the month being a 8.9% decrease to 335,246 units.
In September 2009 the market, buoyed by scrappage, recorded an 11.4% rise to 367,929 units with over 20% of these registrations being down to the scheme. Overall the top 10 positions all outperformed the market this month and only the top 4 (Renault, Mercedes, Audi and Vauxhall) managing to improve on 2009.
Retaining the top spot are new golden boys Renault while the big movers this month were Audi (up 8 places to number 3) and VW’s troubled “sporty brand” SEAT (up 6 places to number 8). We also welcome back once again Land Rover, returning to the Car Makers Premier League at position 10 registering 5,788 units in September (a drop of 12% on this time last year).
This month we say goodbye to Volvo whose 4,965 registrations (20% down) mean they are relegated from the top twenty car manufacturers, while the biggest fallers this month are Mazda (down 13 places to number 19) and Skoda (down 9 places to number 13).
All in all there is not an awful lot of good news around in the figures for September, although, as we said, they are a lot better than a lot of people were predicting.
In the dark days of September 2008 new car registrations fell 21.2% 330,295 units and this was described by the SMMT at the time as “…the most difficult economic conditions the industry has faced in 17 years”. At only just under 5,000 units more than that figure in September 2010 there still appears to be plenty to be concerned about.
The SMMT remain cautious with chief executive Paul Everitt, saying “The outlook remains cautious, with the austerity measures likely to unsettle consumer and business confidence. The VAT rise, due in January 2011, could modestly affect the timing of demand towards the end of the year.”
| POS | Manufacturer | Sept 2009 | Sept 2010 | Diff | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1(1) |  | 10,354 | 14,225 | 3,871 | 37 |
| 2(3) |  | 12,690 | 14,426 | 1,736 | 14 |
| 3(11) |  | 15,117 | 15,889 | 772 | 5 |
| 4(7) |  | 41,255 | 42,235 | 980 | 2 |
| 5(8) |  | 18,440 | 18,309 | (131) | (1) |
| 6(9) |  | 16,142 | 15,767 | (375) | (2) |
| 7(5) |  | 19,526 | 18,673 | (853) | (4) |
| 8(14) |  | 5,628 | 5,382 | (246) | (4) |
| 9(10) |  | 13,688 | 12,856 | (832) | (6) |
| 10(-) |  | 6,587 | 5,788 | (799) | (12) |
| 11(12) |  | 28,181 | 24,701 | (3,480) | (12) |
| 12(13) |  | 8,634 | 7,567 | (1,067) | (12) |
| 13(4) |  | 6,301 | 5,463 | (838) | (13) |
| 14(16) |  | 54,553 | 46,389 | (8,164) | (15) |
| 15(17) |  | 9,778 | 8,257 | (1,521) | (16) |
| 16(15) |  | 14,750 | 12,176 | (2,574) | (17) |
| 17(20) |  | 11,712 | 9,366 | (2,346) | (20) |
| 18(19) |  | 11,031 | 8,431 | (2,600) | (24) |
| 19(6) |  | 11,289 | 8,611 | (2,678) | (24) |
| 20(18) |  | 21,179 | 14,636 | (6,543) | (31) |
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