http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-25638254
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
"Car sales in Scotland surge by 12.5%"
(22 posts)-
Posted 11 years ago #
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It doesn't surprise me that increases in consumption are always presented as good news. But it is still woefully disappointing.
"Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist" - Kenneth Boulding
Posted 11 years ago # -
'Record' March for new car registrations
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-26884562Scottish motor traders enjoyed a record March as new car sales surged by nearly 15%, according to industry figures.
But what is happening to the total numbers of vehicles on the roads, which is a more important figure. If more cars are being taken off than going on, it isn't neccessarily bad news (given new cars are likely to be more efficient and less polluting). Alas it's probably a slow, inevitable slide to Keith's Carmatopia.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Have often wondered where all the cars go? Modern cars have less to go wrong. Often the computer. Mechanics now need to know about computers. So assume fewer cars being scrapped?
There is a UK market in used cars so maybe your trade-in goes to a more deprived area where car use is not up? And maybe up in Scotland means up in SW, NE and Highlands but flat elsewhere? Not sure why those areas should be buying more new cars?
Posted 11 years ago # -
The total number of motorised vehicles registered in Scotland has increased every year since 1993 - when the current Department for Transport vehicle database was established. (1.87m vehicles in 1993, 2.71m in 2012).
Since 1993 some 4.376m vehicles have been registered in Scotland. No idea where all these vehicles have gone - mainly scrapped, I suppose.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Posted 11 years ago # -
There was a burnt out car on the West Fife cycle path for a number of weeks late last year. Joyriders I presume. Last time I cycled that way there were some vigilant looking police officers patrolling the same spot, I assume to prevent a repeat.
Have often wondered where all the cars go?
If you travel on the western loop of the Fife circle line, look west as you pass through Roayth. Massive scrapyard with hundreds, maybe thousands of cars in it. Then if you take a trip on the Aberdeen line via Inverkeithing, look out to sea at Inverkeithing bay and you'll see massive piles of scrap steel, having been shredded, being loaded by crane onto barges. Presume heading to a steelworks somewhere?
Posted 11 years ago # -
usually wee cargo tankers offload at grangemouth then pick up from the scrappie on the way back out, metals headed for far east
you can track the comings and goings here:
Posted 11 years ago # -
I've got one with more than 180K on the clock and I just expect it to work first time, every time. That wouldn't have been the case 20 years ago. They can last longer but some people seem to get bored with them and replace then while they still go. I've never done that. Anytime I've got rid of one it was towed away by a scrappy.
The memsahib is angling for a replacement and the memsahib usually gets what she wants. She says one winter with no heating is enough. Hers also doesn't have 5th gear anymore.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I can personally vouch for the fact that all Edinburgh cars go to Craigmillar Hill to die. They are first incinerated by disaffected hoodlums and then disassembled by prehensile brambles.
Posted 11 years ago # -
A significant amount of people don't "buy" cars nowadays anyway, they lease them or have them on credit, secured against the value of the asset (the car) - handing them back after 2, 3 or 5 years or whatever. All these zillions of cars could be equated to zillions more in household debts being racked up.
Now either the finance / motor industry are particularly generous in lending all their money and cars out, or it's all part of a clever ruse by the asset finance industry (people like Lombard) to lend more money to people who otherwise wouldn't need to borrow it and by the motor industry to "sell" far more cars than people could otherwise afford. It's a particularly convenient arrangement seeing as it's often them that are lending you the money to "buy" their own products!
For good reason was GMAC (the asset finance side of GM) was one of the biggest financial institutions in the US before it went to bailout land.
Posted 11 years ago # -
PPI payouts fuel jump in sales of new cars The Independent Friday 04 October 2013
Posted 11 years ago # -
The Bank of
The United KingdomEngland just released a clear document reiterating that almost all money is created by borrowing from commercial banks;http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/quarterlybulletin/2014/qb14q102.pdf
So our cars are all bought with money borrowed by someone.
I'm just intrigued as to who decides who has the right to create money. Can I apply to do it myself?
Posted 11 years ago # -
One of the major flaws with Milton Friedman's economics as I understood it was that he was not inclined to identify where the money supply came from. He said this was not relevant and that it may as well be dropped from helicopters.
Posted 11 years ago # -
@Crowriver
"If you travel on the western loop of the Fife circle line, look west as you pass through Roayth. Massive scrapyard with hundreds, maybe thousands of cars in it."Run by a company called U-pull-it. If you're looking for the door trim from a 1993 Ford Escort it's the place to go. Recycling.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Scottish new car sales rise sharply
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-27712871"New car sales rose sharply in Scotland last month and outstripped the UK as a whole, according to industry figures.
A total of 17,800 units were sold north of the border in May, which was 15.8% higher than the same period last year."
Project:Broon is all going according to plan.
It's a clever way of reporting; comparing on same month last year, rather than the previous month. This means each month they can publish a press release saying "new car sales surge", when in fact they may be only up on a low baseline from a previous year.
If you go to the SMMT page, you get the following;
Longest ever period of growth for UK new car market
- May increase drives UK new car market to 27 consecutive months of growth, breaking record set in the late 1980s.
- New car registrations increased 7.7% in May to 194,032 units – the most in May since 2004.
- Registrations for 2014-to-date pass the one million mark, rising 11.6% to 1,058,974 units.Worryingly, there are 16,000+ new BWM 3-series senseofselfentitlementmobiles on the road (UK) year to date, 60,000 new Beamers in total and sales are up 18% year-on-year.
Maseratti - up 210%
Bentley - up 62%
Lexus - up 34%
Porsche - up 19%
Mercedes - up 17%
Audi - up 15%
Jaguar - up 10%.Austerity? What Austerity.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Austerity? What Austerity?
New car sales tax. Government finances solved.
Posted 11 years ago # -
"UK car production at seven-year high"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30945288and the day before;
"Borrowing boosted by car-buying spree"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30930436Consumer borrowing hit a near seven-year high in November, mainly as a result of new car sales, Bank of England figures show. Excluding credit cards, consumers borrowed a net £1bn pounds in the month, and spent most of it on cars.
The number of cars sold in the UK last year was 2.47 million, the highest for 10 years. Industry figures have suggested that 75% were bought with the help of a loan.
Hum.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Yes - it's the 'rolling' finance business. Not surprised by surge. Ideal time to upgrade. Fuel is cheapest it's been for a while with low inflation. (Although finance deals like to sell money for as much as possible, house owners have lower mortgages so can afford it, maybe?)
New cars are good though as people like to avoid denting them and they should be more fuel efficient?
Our motorised green machine is the Urban Arrow Bakfiets. We can now get some finance offered on this Bosch powered family bike from the same source that is involved with electric cars. (link to come)Posted 10 years ago # -
Is meant for business though I daresay a family / load bike could do both.
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk
Scotland now has four electric assist Urban Arrows. Maybe 0.1% of the electric vehicle market? I'm sure theres room for growth.
Posted 10 years ago # -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34383082
The way we buy cars today - personal contracts and leases.
Innteresting article that goes some way to explaining why there are so many very new and flash motors doing the round given we're still rumbling along in a lengthy economic malaise.
more than 80% of Mercedes sales in the UK now take place via this sort of leasing arrangement.
With lots of "cheap money" (if you're a big financial institution interested on re-lending it) from the Bank of England and other central banks has been creatively used to make sure people can carry on getting new cars they can't actually afford every 2 or 3 years.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Rather more worrying than the increase in private car sales is the increase in small van sales, and mileage.
In past 10 years car registrations up 11% small CV registrations up 26%.
In past 20 years car mileage up 14% small CV mileage up 68% (HGV up 1%! - due to huge transfer of container traffic onto long haul rail)
Posted 9 years ago #
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