Saturday, February, 2011

Yet more bad news with the latest reports indicating a further fall in global car, van and truck production. This may however have a positive impact on van hire as the cost of new vehicles is reduced, and so the savings can be passed on to the renters. To summarize: 

• Car production fell 33.3% in November for the year to date it is down 2.7%.
• Commercial vehicle production had the greatest fall by 50.2% for the month of November.
• Year to date volumes are down 2.7% for all vehicles. 75.7% output is exported.
• Rapid slowdown in output caused by both a fall in domestic and export demand.
• There is a desperate need for urgent support to restore demand and loosen credit restrictions in place.

"The UK motor industry is facing unprecedented challenges and urgent action is now required. The sector has seen falls in demand, extended plant closures and the first signs of redundancies in the supply chain," said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. "Without swift action and the ability to access credit and finance, significant damage will be done to the nation's industrial capability - leaving the UK poorly equipped to take advantage of any global growth when it returns."