4x4s in the brown stuff?
Apparent drop in off-roader sales may not be all it seems
Are SUV sales on the verge of collapse? That seemed to be the suggestion following the publication of the latest monthly UK car sales figures, which showed that 18 per cent fewer 4x4s were sold in May this year compared with the same month last year. So has the combination of increasing road tax and rising fuel prices (the national average for a litre of regular unleaded is currently around 117p) finally burst the SUV bubble?
That was the story being reported on the BBC and in the national newspapers, but look in more detail at the charts published by the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) and a different story emerges. For starters, May 2007 was an unusual month, with several marques, most notably Land Rover, reporting very strong sales.
But for a more accurate guide to what’s happening, it’s best to look at a longer time-frame. Compare the first five months of this year to the same in 2007 and 4x4 sales are actually up by over two per cent, from 73,549 last year to 75,097 this year.
The background to all this is that SUV sales are dipping significantly in the US and a section of the British media is keen to draw parallels between the two. General Motors, America’s biggest car firm, announced that it is closing four North American pick-up and large SUV factories, cutting capacity by 700,000 per year in one fell swoop. Hummer’s future is also understood to be under review.
Back in the UK, the SMMT expects figures to pick up in June, helped by the arrival of new metal such as the BMW X6. Spokesman John Proctor told us: ‘In the UK the 4x4 is far from dead and we expect annual sales of off-roaders to rival last year’s total of 176,290.’
