f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Figures just released for 2012 show new car registations rose by 5% from 2011 in 2012 with just over 2 million new cars registered.

Year on year winners were:

Infiniti
Land Rover
Porsche
Kia
Suzuki
Bentley

Year on year losers were:

Mazda
Maserati
Mitsubishi
Alfa Romeo
Renault

and of course Subaru.

Subaru saw a 23% decline in sales selling a total of just over 2000 vehicales during the year. Putting that in perspective that is a quarter of what Porsche sold and only 700 more vehicles than Bentley sold

mart360

If you do a search, I posted in Dec, that Subaru have dropped the impreza from the uk market due to declining sales.

Anything to do with change from saloon to hatch prehaps?
Mart

boxst

Lotus down 58%

mart360

I forgot to add, Renault have also dropped the Laguna from the UK as well.

Citroen have dropped the C6

Seat, on the other hand, have gone full circle, and taken the Toledo back to a 4 door saloon,


Mart

Tidgy

got a link to the figure f1?

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

On front page of Society of Motor Manufacturers website: https://www.smmt.co.uk/

ChrisB

Renault ditched the Laguna (and more) in Feb 2012 (Car Magazine)

speedking

Landrover = Evoque. If only Subaru had hired Victoria Beckham to 'design' the XV

P1Fanatic

No surprise to see Inifiniti on there as they have only been around for a couple of years so improving on almost 0 sales is quite easy 

Ugly as sin imho but the Reading Dealership (one of about 7 total UK wide) tends to have some better 2nd hand marques for sale which is good for a look. (I assume were part ex vehicles).

moneys

iTrader: (5)

What gets about peoples comments about posh spice is that you genuinely don't realise how such a good move it was by JLR. In using her as a marketing tool JLR ended up on the front cover of almost every stlye magazine out there in the world nearly. This was the market they were after. The young so called stylish woman. As a marketing trick it was probably one of the best ever. Did she have a say in the design of the car? No. Did she have a say in the interior an paint schemes of her special edition then yes. They charge a hefty amount more for the special edition one an everyone of them has sold

speedking

Yes I do that's why I wrote what I wrote.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I thought we were in a recession and everyone is now poor and can't afford to live? So why are new car sales figures rising?

We don't even have the hair brained scrappage scheme anymore.

Kia doesn't suprise me; They are now the modern day version of what Ford used to be in the 80's IMO. Good vaue for money, OK to drive, good feedback through the steering and brakes (unlike a modern Focus), not too over-complicated and best of all...so easy to service and nice to work on, which is the reverse on the current Focus with its daft oil filter location on the current 1.6 TDCi - stupid stupid stupid, only out done by the pollen filter access where you have to move the fusebox...seriously, what car designer thought that was OK?

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Surely considering the huge drop in new sales in 2008-2010, a 5% increase is a drop in the ocean? Might be wrong, but just saying.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Market is still 15% below its peak in the mid 2000s

DYK

I think the design of the new scoob contributed to the decline in sales.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Market still down 15%, but people are just getting to the point where they are buying now where they would have bought in 2009,10,11 before the recession. The figures are driven by a good amount of private sales.

urban

iTrader: (1)

Perhaps, but I'd say its more down to very poor exchange rates with secondary reasons being insurance, running costs, vehicle tax and stupidly high fuel prices.

Look at Mitsubishi, how many new Evo's have you seen on the road.
I've seen very few.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Subarus sales as a percentage of the UK market have never amounted to anything significant so the marque's success or failoure means very little in absolute overall market terms.

However there is no doubt that sales after the cessation of the 2006 'hawkeye' saloon and introduction of the 2007 hatch took a massive dive and have continued falling ever since to the point now where Subaru have withdrawn the Impreza from the UK market.

There is no doubt that the exchange rate, high fuel prices and the recession played a part, but for the most part Subaru alienated their loyal UK customer base with a car that was trying to broaden their market but in doing so lost its appeal to their current customers without being good enough to attract the new customers they so desperately wanted. That and it's as ugly as sin of course!