Car Makers Premier League - April 2011

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?

Aprils statistics (based on the SMMT figures for UK new car registrations in April 2011) revealed that 137,746 new 11-plate cars were registered in the month, a decline of 7.4% on 2010. The relatively good news is that the market was 1.5% ahead of forecast and on par with the 2010 market with scrappage volumes removed. (SMMT are working hard to find any good news this month!)

In April 2010 the market, still impacted by those scrappage registrations, recorded an 11.5% increase on the previous year to 148,793 units with 8% of these registrations being down to the scheme.
Overall only the top 5 positions outperformed the market this month with Nissan (an impressive 21% up on April 2010) BMW (moving up to number 2 with a 16% increase on last year) and Mercedes, Audi and VW (all up 7%) being some distance ahead of the competition. The only other manufacturer to make it in to positive territory was Hyundai (up from 18th to 6th with a modest 2% increase on April 2010). So once again only the top 6 managed to improve on April 2010 and 4 of the 6 are German owned manufacturers (BMW, Mercedes, Audi and VW).

This month we have lost Mazda who failed to register enough unites to put them in the top 20 (1,589 units – down 42% on last year – ouch!). This month we welcome back Skoda whose 3,482 (and 3% decline) bring them bouncing back in at position 8.

As mentioned it’s very good news this month for Hyundai (up from 18th to 6th) and VW (up from 9th to 5th) along with trailblazers Nissan up from 2 to top spot. While it’s bad news for Mini who slump from last month’s top spot to 12th with a pretty dismal 19% decline on April 2010.

Volvo slump to bottom with a whopping 35% decline on last year.

According to the SMMT “New car registrations in April demonstrated continued stability in the marketplace, with demand remaining lower than in 2010, although slightly ahead of industry expectations. The coming months will remain challenging, but we do expect to see a return to growth in the second half of the year.”

Car Makers Premier League April 2011

POS	Manufacturer	Apr 2010	Apr 2011	Diff	%
1(2)		5,782	7,010	1,228	21
2(4)		6,886	8,014	1,128	16
3(6)		5,227	5,610	383	7
4(5)		8,693	9,318	625	7
5(9)		14,825	15,807	982	7
6(18)		4,510	4,612	102	2
7(8)		18,418	18,306	(112)	(1)
8(-)		3,593	3,482	(111)	(3)
9(14)		19,216	18,411	(805)	(4)
10(3)		2,835	2,536	(299)	(11)
11(7)		5,093	4,225	(868)	(17)
12(1)		2,869	2,335	(534)	(19)
13(11)		5,701	4,582	(1,119)	(20)
14(15)		4,020	2,941	(1,079)	(27)
15(12)		8,221	5,853	(2,368)	(29)
16(10)		2,409	1,712	(697)	(29)
17(19)		6,750	4,730	(2,020)	(30)
18(17)		4,089	2,853	(1,236)	(30)
19(15)		5,228	3,641	(1,587)	(30)
20(13)		3,568	2,302	(1,266)	(35)