4:52 pm, February 7, 2014
THE subject of the British new car market’s recovery has reared its head again this week.
Just hours before the SMMT published its new car registration data for the month of January, the chief executive of one of the UK’s largest dealer groups wrote a blog for us outlining the REAL reasons for the car market’s recovery of late.
Robert Forrester of Vertu Motors believes the BBC’s reporting of new car sales recovery is ‘complete tosh’. The corporation’s continued stories that motor car sales are related to more Brits flushed with cash largely thanks to PPI payouts is wrong and there are far more reasons why sales are recovering.
You can read Forrester’s blog here in full but I’d like to make a few points as well. At the Geneva Motor Show last year, a number of car bosses told me that PPI payouts were certainly having an effect on car sales – but they are definitely not the only reason. Consumers’ general confidence and the wider UK economy’s improvement is another factor, and let’s not forget dealers and manufacturers making their offerings far more appealing to customers.
I’m sure Forrester is not alone in his feelings here – there must be a large number of other CEOs in the motor trade who share his beliefs. But my question is, why doesn’t the national media consult the motor trade before reporting upon it? Is hearing dealers having had a hand in new car sales recovery the type of thing the wider public don’t want to hear?
Or is it perhaps a case of the national media simply failing to grasp the intricacies of the system? Or – worse still – could the national media be CHOOSING to ignore the truth of the situation?
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