TMW - It's that time of the month again - April 2016 - Significant releases coming should mean increased sales.

JAGUAR

APRIL 2405 2016  sales - APRIL 2015 1151 sales +108.95%

Y.T.D. 2016 11085 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 6103 sales +81.63%

LAND ROVER

APRIL 2016 6482 sales - APRIL 2015 5549 sales +16.81%

Y.T.D. 2016 30600 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 26154 sales +17.00%

JAGUAR LAND ROVER CUMULATIVE

APRIL 2016 8887 sales - APRIL 2015 6700 sales +32.64%

Y.T.D. 2016 41685 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 32257 sales +29.23%

JAGUAR LAND ROVERS COMPETITORS

BMW

APRIL 2016 10980 sales - APRIL 2015 10891 sales +0.82% 

Y.T.D. 2016 57475 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 50915 sales +12.887%

MERCEDES

APRIL 2016 12077 sales - APRIL 2015 10082 sales +19.79%

Y.T.D. 2016 59316 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 50393 sales +17.71%

LEXUS

APRIL 2016 835 sales - APRIL 2015 1044 sales -20.02%

Y.T.D. 2016 5172 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 4730 sales +9.34%

AUDI

APRIL 2016 13668 sales - APRIL 2015 13264 sales +3.05% 

Y.T.D. 2016 61048 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 58183 sales +4.92%

INFINITI

APRIL 2016 335 sales - APRIL 2015 175 sales +91.43% 

Y.T.D. 2016 859 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 407 sales +111.06%

RISERS ON PREVIOUS YEAR (Y.T.D. CUMULATIVE)

ABARTH +91.27%

ALFA ROMEO +12.44%

BENTLEY +28.04%

DS AUTOMOBILES +0.00% *

FIAT +3.73%

HONDA +17.45%

HYUNDAI +3.36%

JEEP +51.76%

KIA +9.22%

MAZDA +12.46%

MG +8.31%

MINI +6.74%

PORSCHE +15.67%

RENAULT +17.88%

SKODA +6.37%

SMART +85.83%

SSANGYONG +108.39%

SUBARU +7.16%

SUZUKI +15.31%
TOYOTA +1.60%

VOLVO +8.68%

LOSERS THIS YEAR (YTD CUMULATIVE)

ASTON MARTIN -5.97%
CITROEN -18.04% *

DACIA -5.06%

FORD -2.18%

LOTUS -17.78%
MASERATI -19.50%

MITSUBISHI -15.50%

NISSAN -3.96%
PEUGEOT -6.47%

SEAT -4.48%

VAUXHALL -0.70%

VOLKSWAGEN -6.02%

• *Citroen and DS Automobiles split sales in May 2015 - Combine both to get an accurate figure when comparing to 2015 sales figures.
• Grateful thanks for all the Figures supplied by the SMMT.

The Fourth month of the year continues the way of the first quarter, strong, growth with sales of a large number of brands growing by double digit figures, in a month where there is only a 2% increase, and a year to date incline of 4%, luxury brands have not faired well so far this year, with Aston Martin, Lotus and Maserati all dropping, Bentley is the only saving grace, but they have the new Bentayga to boost sales during it's launch period.

MG has peaked, as its now a few months where sales have not beaten the previous years numbers, although year to date are still ahead, and with the UK launch of the new GS (a report on this will follow) at the London Motor Show, it is hoped that sales will grow significantly, and at long last MG has introduced an Auto box, yippee, and a new 1.5 Litre Turbocharged engine at launch with another petrol and diesel to come by the year end, but then we are still waiting for more engines for the MG3 and MG6, so dont hold your breath.

Jaguar has had an amazing month, with sales growth hitting triple figures, and about time too, it looks like the XE and F-Pace are now at full steam, and sales are going to be good for both this ranges, unfortunately the promised XE Estate, Coupe and Convertible are now all gone, but the XF Sportbrake has been given the green light, after having it cancelled at the end of last year, do they really know what they are doing at JLR ? it begs the question !

Land Rover on the other hand have had nothing new to speak of, the Evoque convertible will be a limited sales model, and the Discovery 5 has started to be seen out and about clad in the usual disguise, ready for an end of year reveal, whether the brand will launch the Evoque XL or the Discovery Sport XL is to be seen, but i fear these will be placed on the back burner, as costs are now being cut, and it is becoming obvious, which considering there momentum over the last eight years, is a real shame.

It is also of note, that the once big brands like Ford, Vauxhall, SEAT and Volkswagen have all declining sales, VW, well, thats obvious, their dishonesty in fixing the engines of their cars to give false emissions readings has taken its toll on the brand, and estimates of upto $40 Billion in fines and repair costs has been mooted, and their recent results have shown that they would have made a healthy Billion Euro+ profit for the quarter, but the charges they have announced has taken that away into a multi Billion Euro loss.

Ford, this is a strange one, they continue to be the biggest brand in the UK, with the Focus, Fiesta, Transit and Mustang leading their respective segments, amongst others, yet sales are dipping, as they have already this year, they have lots of new metal, decent packages, finance deals and so on, yet, people are not buying like they did last year, it will be interesting to see if this continues.

FIAT is another surprise, they have nothing new, the decade old Punto, the 500 and various derivates, Qubo, Dublo and Panda are all wanting new models, yet sales are growing, this is great news, the all new TIPO, looks like it will be a great car, and hopefully will give FIAT a car in that segment that sells in significant numbers, not seen since the last TIPO in the 80's, the same goes for Alfa, they have just two mainstream models both have been around for a while, and sales are growing, both Italian brands have lots of new products coming over the coming few years, and that will boost sales significantly.

Lastly for the month, Ssangyong, they continue to sell in bigger numbers, like Jaguar, a triple figure increase, however this is on the YTD, so an ongoing growth, and it is so well deserved, they have had some really dodge cars over the years, ugly is one word, but today they have a range of off roaders that are superior looking, well equipped, capable on and of road, decent pricing, and with a great warranty and after sales service, the Tivoli is the pick of the range, followed by the Korando and then the Rexton, so if you are on the look out for a well priced car, you would be well advised to check on this brand first.

So, thats it for the fourth month of the year and the start of Q2, what will next month bring, traditionally a quiet month with people taking holidays, and it being midway (ish) between the two plate change periods, will Jag continue to grow and by such huge margins, will Ford turnaround, will Fiat stop selling more cars, you only have about four weeks to wait, so thanks as always, have a great month, and enjoy whatever you have planned.

JON MOWER

The Motoring World.

TMW - It's that time of the month again - March 2016 - The first quarter ends on a high, with more to come.

JAGUAR

MARCH 5659 2016  sales - MARCH 2015 3903 sales +44.99%

Y.T.D. 2016 8680 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 4952 sales +75.28%

LAND ROVER

MARCH 2016 18234 sales - MARCH 2015 15508 sales +17.58%

Y.T.D. 2016 24118 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 20605 sales +17.05%

JAGUAR LAND ROVER CUMULATIVE

MARCH 2016 23893 sales - MARCH 2015 19411 sales +23.10%

Y.T.D. 2016 32798 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 25557 sales +28.33%

JAGUAR LAND ROVERS COMPETITORS

BMW

MARCH 2016 32470 sales - MARCH 2015 26925 sales +20.59%

Y.T.D. 2016 46495 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 40024 sales +16.17%

MERCEDES

MARCH 2016 30243 sales - MARCH 2015 26616 sales +13.63%

Y.T.D. 2016 47239 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 40311 sales +17.19%

LEXUS

MARCH 2016 3104 sales - MARCH 2015 2446 sales +26.90%

Y.T.D. 2016 4337 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 3686 sales +17.66%

AUDI

MARCH 2016 30483 sales - MARCH 2015 29153 sales +4.56% 

Y.T.D. 2016 47380 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 44919 sales +5.48%

INFINITI

MARCH 2016 392 sales - MARCH 2015 153 sales +156.21% 

Y.T.D. 2016 524 sales - Y.T.D. 2015 232 sales +125.86%

RISERS ON PREVIOUS YEAR (Y.T.D. CUMULATIVE)

ABARTH +94.51%

ALFA ROMEO +11.82%

ASTON MARTIN +3.79%

BENTLEY +12.53%

DS AUTOMOBILES +0.00% *

FIAT +3.41%

HONDA +14.83%

HYUNDAI +2.02%

JEEP +37.62%

KIA +8.52%

MAZDA +16.71%

MG +15.48%

MINI +8.13%

PORSCHE +21.83%

RENAULT +16.35%

SKODA +9.03%

SMART +116.56%

SSANGYONG +122.35%

SUBARU +3.68%

SUZUKI +13.30%
TOYOTA +1.91%

VOLVO +8.66%

LOSERS THIS YEAR (YTD CUMULATIVE)

CITROEN -15.46% *

DACIA -1.01%

FORD -0.96%

LOTUS -1.14%
MASERATI -12.80%

MITSUBISHI -17.38%

NISSAN -5.20%
PEUGEOT -5.84%

SEAT -5.42%

VAUXHALL -0.19%

VOLKSWAGEN -4.88%

• *Citroen and DS Automobiles split sales in May 2015 - Combine both to get an accurate figure when comparing to 2015 sales figures.
• Figures all supplied by SMMT.

Well, we conclude the first quarter with yet more record sales, March is, one of the two sales boosting months with the number plate change, so, not only do we get to see a new number on the plates, we see, this time, nearly 520,000 cars sold, and thats a significant increase on last March, So, who are the winners and who are the losers this year.

Smart, Ssangyong and Abarth are up there with double or more sales against a year ago, Smart has nothing new, so it looks like people are now getting used to the brace of cars and are happy to part with their hard earned for one of these quirky cars, Ssangyong, well, they have the Tivoli, which is doing some really good business, along with new engines and a 4x4 version, and a LWB version coming soon, then we have Abarth, they have nothing new, just the same warmed over Fiat 500's in various tunes and trim levels, but we will have the 124 Spider to add to the fray not long after the main model is launched.

Jaguar and Land Rover both continue their upward journey with some really big increases, especially Jaguar, and about time too, the F-Pace will help keep the sales flying high, and the XE will keep the volume end afloat, but the XF seems to have stagnated, and the XJ is pegged at around 20,000 units a year worldwide, those numbers are not very fiscally viable, so expect the next generation to have a more parts bin look to it, especially under the skin, all to save a few pennies.

The Key players in the UK, Ford and Vauxhall are both showing declines in Q1, however in the month Vauxhall are up +6.6% and Ford are down -4.91%, both have new or refreshed products, and both remain Britains favourite brands.

The Four French brands are also having a decent time, except for Peugeot, Citroen shows a negative figure, but you have to factor in DS as they are now split, together they are growing, and they too have a number of new or refreshed models, it does have to be said, that although the three DS models, 3-4 & 5, have been refreshed they remain very old in car terms these days, and the DS3 must be replaced sooner than the other two, as it is the biggest seller in the DS portfolio.

Volkswagen and one of it's subsidiaries, SEAT, both dropped sales, not sure why SEAT has, they have some brilliant models, the LEON and Ibiza, but Volkswagen, well, with them conning the worlds motoring buyers with the Diesel Scandal, it goes to show that the buyers will hit you hard, and where it hurts, and thats in VW's wallet, it is not only the UK thats dropped, the USA has also dropped significantly too.

Aston and Bentley are taking in the orders nicely for their portfolio of stunning products, Lotus however, remains an odd set of numbers, before March they were well above target, yet in the first of the two big months of the year, Lotus dropped sales, MINI has turned a corner with a nice set of positive figures, again, the same cant be said for MINI USA, Subaru continues to grow and grow the world over, and with them entering a factory backed team in the British Touring Car Championships (BTCC), with the newly launched Levorg, it will no doubt have some influence on the buying public, as long, of course, they do some decent racing, and get some podiums and wins, but they have three years to get it right, as thats the length of the contract to run the team, but with Jason Plato and Colin Turkington in the team, expect wins this year.

And thats it for March and Q1, April brings with it some new models, and further announcements of brands and models appearing at the inaugural London Motor Show, so, see you in one month.

TMW - It's that time of the month again - February 2016 - This is looking like another record year already.

JAGUAR

FEBRUARY 249 2016  sales - FEBRUARY 2015 769 sales +208.84%

YTD 2016 3021 sales - YTD 2015 1049 sales +187.99%

LAND ROVER

FEBRUARY 2016 1275 sales - FEBRUARY 2015 794 sales +60.58%

YTD 2016 5097 sales - YTD 2015 5884 sales +15.44%

JAGUAR LAND ROVER CUMULATIVE

FEBRUARY 2016 1524 sales - FEBRUARY 2015 1043 sales +46.12%

YTD 2016 8905 sales - YTD 2015 6146 sales +44.89%

JAGUAR LAND ROVERS COMPETITORS

BMW

FEBRUARY 2016 8265 sales - FEBRUARY 2015 8008 sales +3.21%
YTD 2016 13099 sales - YTD 2015 14025 sales +7.07%

MERCEDES

FEBRUARY 2016 4347 sales - FEBRUARY 2015 5196 sales +19.53%

YTD 2016 16996 sales - YTD 2015 13695 sales +24.10%

LEXUS

FEBRUARY 2016 232 sales - FEBRUARY 2015 234 sales -0.85%

YTD 2016 1233 sales - YTD 2015 1240 sales -0.56%

AUDI

FEBRUARY 2016 5384 sales - FEBRUARY 2015 4412 sales +22.03% 

YTD 2016 16897 sales - YTD 2015 15766 sales +7.17%

INFINITI

FEBRUARY 2016 18 sales - FEBRUARY 2015 27 sales +50.00% 

YTD 2016 79 sales - YTD 2015 132 sales +67.09%

RISERS ON PREVIOUS YEAR (YTD CUMULATIVE)

ABARTH +74.86%

ALFA ROMEO +30.64%

ASTON MARTIN +69.23%

BENTLEY +7.01%

DS AUTOMOBILES +0.00% *

FORD +7.05%

HONDA +26.61%

HYUNDAI +2.02%

JEEP +115.98%

KIA +9.75%

LOTUS +205.56%

MAZDA +22.51%

MG +110.10%

NISSAN +0.87%

PORSCHE +28.80%

RENAULT +28.95%

SKODA +7.04%

SMART +215.49%

SSANGYONG +142.94%

SUBARU +31.92%
SUZUKI +27.73%

VOLVO +2.32%

LOSERS THIS YEAR (YTD CUMULATIVE)

CITROEN -10.23% *

DACIA -0.46%

FIAT -10.61%

MASERATI -34.68%

MINI -8.68%

MITSUBISHI -4.91%

PEUGEOT -2.76%

SEAT -11.29%

TOYOTA -3.74%

VAUXHALL -12.67%

VOLKSWAGEN -13.61%

• * Citroen and DS Automobiles split sales in May 2015 - Combine both to get an accurate figure when comparing to 2015 sales figures.
• Figures all supplied by SMMT.

The second month of the year does not see any major changes from January, Jaguar Land Rover increases it's sales over Jan' which is great news for the Midlands manufacturer, the XE, and Discovery Sport are really doing some great numbers for the brands, and the Evoque is still selling in very high numbers, and has become the brands fastest ever seller, hitting half a million already, and the Disco Sport has already hit 100k.

The year is already providing an insight into what is looking like another record year, with so many brands doing huge growth numbers, MG continues to shine, with more growth, which will only continue with the launch of the All-New GS SUV, Ssangyong, Jeep, Smart and Lotus are the other brands that join MG in having triple digit increases, with a few other brands in the high double digits, meaning 2016 is on course already to be one to remember.

There are some significant new cars either already on sale or ready to be released, like the GS from MG, we have the Astra Sports Tourer, a raft of new MINI products, which begs the questions why are they dropping sales, when there are already having new metal on the market now, Ssangyong's Tivoli is proving to be a great seller, and now with the longer wheelbase version launched at Geneva, this will only boost sales further.

Volvo are now entering its final segment of re-invention with the XC90, S90, and V90 already announced, the revised V40 announced, the remaining models will all be replaced or very heavily modified over the coming couple of years, so expect to see Volvo at the fore of sales growth for some time yet. Vauxhall has announced the new Mokka X, but nothing about the aging Insignia, which is in dire need of replacement.

Renault are just impressing with every release they announce, the beautiful new Megane will move that model back to the front of sales again, and the new Scenic announced at Geneva is another that is a stunner, and will too, boost sales, it is a shame we will not be getting the Talisman in the UK as this car too, is a beautiful model, and with the launch of Alpine, it near enough completes Renaults rebirth, there is not one model in the range that disappoints.

However, the same can not be said for Dacia, they have been in the UK now for some years, and nothing has changed, a minor tweak to the Duster, and thats about it, no new models, no updates, no face-lifts, nada, nowt, zero, Zilch, and thats bad news for any brand, but one that sells on it's budget principals, has to keep up with the rest or die trying, and in February, they did just that, one of the only dips in sales since they came to the UK.

British Luxury continues to impress with both Aston Martin and Bentley upping sales in February, for Aston this is important to keep the sales level or higher as they turnaround the range with the all new DB11 launched at Geneva, and the DBX Soft Roader Supercar, Bentley on the other hand keeps it's models fresh and upto date, and the Bentayga and Grand Cabrio will boost that further, but the need for a new Continental is very important, and hopefully will be here sooner rather than later.

Volkswagen, well, what can we say about VW that is not already being said the world over, they cheated and are taking the fall for it, well, tough, you chose to lie to the customer, and because of that they are not buying your products, of course this will not last long, as sales will begin to grow again, peoples memories are short and specific, and with offers and price cuts, will only bring them back to the brand, but for now, they are taking the hit with sales across the globe being hit.

So, we are now two months into the year and it is very clear the way things are going, will BREXIT do anything to change this, i dont believe it will, it would cost companies outside of the UK too much in lost revenue to allow it to effect us too badly if at all, the UK is now seen as one of the best places in the world to build cars, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, JLR, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Lotus and so on, continue to build here, and there is no sign of that ever changing.