TMW - Its that time of the month - UK APRIL sales figures

JAGUAR

APRIL 2013 1080 sales - APRIL 2014 1209 sales +11.94%

YTD 2013 6058 sales - YTD 2014 6683 sales +10.32%

LAND ROVER

APRIL 2013 3483 sales - APRIL 2014 4381 sales +25.78%

YTD 2013 22248 sales - YTD 2014 21479 sales -3.46%

JAGUAR LAND ROVERS COMPETITORS

BMW

APRIL 2013 8866 sales - APRIL 2014 10484 sales +18.25%

YTD 2013 40188 sales - YTD 2014 48421 sales +20.49%

MERCEDES

APRIL 2013 7631 sales - APRIL 2014 8736 sales +14.48%

YTD 2013 36633 sales - YTD 2014 42535 sales +16.11%

LEXUS

MAPRIL 2013 509 sales - APRIL 2014 691 sales +35.76%

YTD 2013 2770 sales - YTD 2014 3771 sales +34.69%

AUDI

APRIL 2013 10823 sales - APRIL 2014 12958 sales +19.73%

YTD 2013 49085 sales - YTD 2014 56724 sales +15.56%

RISERS ON PREVIOUS YEAR (YOY CUMULATIVE)

ABARTH +11.48%

ALFA ROMEO +1.14%

BENTLEY +53.03%

CITROEN +5.20%

DACIA +120.33%

FIAT +22.16%

FORD +13.32%

HONDA +0.58%

HYUNDAI +13.46%
JEEP +42.04%

KIA +11.04%

LEXUS +34.45%

MASERATI +204.81%
MAZDA +35.24%

MG +715.96%

MIA +0.00%
NISSAN +12.47%

PEUGEOT +3.16%

PORSCHE +27.52%

RENAULT +65.10%

SEAT +22.30%
SKODA +28.25% 

SSANGYONG +143.13%

SUBARU +1.52%
SUZUKI +17.84%
TOYOTA +6.16%

VAUXHALL +5.15%

VOLKSWAGEN +11.48%

VOLVO +12.96%

LOSERS THIS YEAR (YOY CUMULATIVE)

ASTON MARTIN -11.96%

CHEVROLET -35.84%

CHRYSLER -13.69%

INFINITI -26.60%

LOTUS -3.45%

MINI -16.52%

MITSUBISHI -7.10%

PERODUA -86.89%

PROTON -93.33%

SMART -11.20%

April proved that sales can increase after the plate change month of March, and significantly too, with an 8.2% rise for the month and 12.5% for the year to date, its looking like another great year for car sales, and like each and every month, some did better than others, Ford and Vauxhall are the only two brands that currently hold a double figure hold of the UK market holding 25.52% of all sales.

The usual suspects are there, Fiesta, Focus and Corsa, are there again, taking the top three, but with Fiesta now pulling a great big lead of #2 Focus its looking like a runaway victory after just four months, Vauxhall on the other hand has some real thinking to do, the Corsa is always rated at #3 or thereabouts, and it is due for replacement very soon, so what do they do, the current model sells on huge discounts, and boy racer versions, the new model will have to follow this if it wants to keep the Bronze medal.

The Astra is another car facing the same issues as the Corsa, a new model imminent, with huge discounts to encourage sales, surely Vauxhall wont discount from day one on both these cars, will they ? The new VW Golf is slowly but surely creeping up the chart, and will soon be nibbling at the Corsa's heels, will Vauxhall want to lose that foothold. I very much doubt it.

But then there is Nissan, both the Juke and CashCow are new, so sales will be good for the time being, keeping it fresh and relevant is something that Nissan has not been good at, not like Vauxhall, or Ford to a smaller extent, The 500 from FIAT is a cute car, and with it comes variants, the L XL, new X as well as ABARTH and Convertible versions, all under the 500 banner, perhaps MINI should do the same, class all cars as MINI rather than individual models, they might get in the top ten then, doubt it though, recent reports on reliability and customer satisfaction has been fresh in the press.

MG, yay, a monthly report would not be complete without my thoughts on MG, well, that's it, Now JLR, jaguar continues its upward climb, slowly and surely month after month the sales grow, the new XE (HURRY UP, I want to get hold of ours NOW) is proceeding well and on target for a JUNE 2015 release (UK), the new Discovery family has been launched to much acclaim, the DC100 concept has been dropped in favour of a more authentic design, or in other words, it will look like a Defender and behave like a Discovery, maybe, but it will be available in ALL parts of the world, whereas the current Defender is not, due to safety and legislation.

Lastly my usual YANK Bashing, LOL, not really, but again, apart from Jeep (FIAT Owned so its a hybrid Italian now, so its more acceptable (JOKE)), Chevy has really fell of the cliff, sales of only 85, down over 92% on last year, I expected sales to drop off but not that quick, Chrysler, well, I am really not sure why they are here, they dont advertise, the Ypsilon (Lancia) is too expensive, the Grand Voyager is just awful, the Delta has been removed from the UK, and what does that leave, well, the best model, the 300C, a stonking gangster car, throbbing V8, square jawed looks, and the presence of a supertanker, whats NOT to like, I know I do.

OK, not the last, I cant just leave MG up there with that comment, come on, I love MG, I know that sounds like sarcasm, but I really do, they are trying, but in the wrong way, the total lack of TV advertising is not helping, matters, rumour has it that MG has or is about to dump the petrol version of the MG6, that will leave just the 1.9 Diesel in GT Fastback & Magnette (saloon) trim, with three levels of specification, S, SE and TSE, and the better seller, the MG3, this little pocket rocket (well not quite, but it looks the part), is doing wonders for MG's sales, up a significant 1600%, yes one thousand six hundred percent on the month and 715.96% year to date.

Please MG, advertise some more, it worked first time around, so carry on, get more cars out there, and get more dealers, stop keep doing press releases stating your getting more when you don't actually produce them, the UK loves MG, and to get a full range of cars back here would be amazing, we are already behind China on the updated MG6, we are not getting the MG5, either saloon or fastback, we will be getting the MG CS, the new SUV, which really looks nice, I just hope the concept to reality is not watered down.

And that really does end this months report, have fun.......