Posts Tagged ‘Fuel Efficiency’
The credit crunch is biting all around and everyone from supermarkets to airlines to car dealers are feeling the pulling in of belts and the loss of sales.
New cars are no exception. Many new cars are used as fleet cars or company cars, from the Lexus to the BMW, and those same companies are decreasing on their unnecessary spending budget and making the cars they have last another year or so in order to see how finances pan out. This hits the car dealers pretty hard.
The sale of new cars such as Lexus and Mercedes and even your average Ford are down by just over twenty per cent on last year’s figures. Given that this is the time of year when new car sales are made up with the bulk of their annual sales thanks to the new registration plate, this is disappointing news and a little worrying. These are the worst sales figures in the motor industry in seventeen years.
Outlets orders to manufacturers have remained the same leading to a back log of vehicles stored at ports with no homes to go to as the expected space in the showrooms has not materialised. Of the drivers who can afford new cars, many are turning to the smaller, more economical version with lower tax expenses and more fuel efficiency. Of course, Lexus and BMW do eco-friendly versions but they still come with luxury car status and as such, they are accompanied by a luxury car price tag.
The blame for the lack of new car sales is being attributed to the current financial crisis and a lack of confidence in job security. This is making people reluctant to pay out for new cars unless they are absolutely necessary, but the good news is for those who can afford a new car. The chances of them getting a good deal right now when dealers are desperate for a sale are quite high.
More depressing news from the motoring world came in the form of car parts suppliers, LSUK, axing 600 workers after the business went into administration following a failed takeover. The company have 53 branches nationally and all workers have been issued with redundancy notices until a buy-out can be secured.
The motoring industry is looking to the government to ease the situation for new car dealers by capping the increases in vehicle excise duty along with other measures. The sale of new cars has been falling all year at a rate of 7.5 per cent over the last year but the chain of events in the world’s finances has seen that dip to the twenty per cent drop that we now see.
Much of these sales drops that are currently being witnessed are with the larger car manufacturers, with the exception of Audi and Jaguar who enjoyed a slight increase. However, the Vauxhall Corsa turned out to be the best selling car followed closely by Fiesta, Astra, Focus and Golf’s. So, it would seem that people really are opting for the smaller car.
Despite Jaguar and Ford not seeing so much of this downturn, they are still taking precautionary measures to cut back with the Ford Transit plant in Southampton being put on a four day week until further notice and Jaguar cutting back on the volumes they produce. This just goes to show that the economic problems are effecting industries other than banking and that we all need to keep a tighter grip on our money.
With the popularity that hybrid vehicles are enjoying in the media and with all the attention they have been getting from environmentalist groups and advocates, one wonders how sales of these hybrid cars are going. Let us look at some secondary data provided to get a glimpse at just how marketable these hybrid cars are.
As of the first quarter of 2007, data from Forbes show that in the US alone, hybrids garnered a combined sale of more than 17,000 units, a remarkable 10% increase from the same period in 2006. The demand is definitely rising, and this demand is translating into actual sales. Sale of hybrid vehicles vis-à-vis the total number of light-duty vehicles sold also increased by as much as 1.4% compared to previous year levels. This only means more and more buyers prefer hybrids to conventional-fuel models.
Why the Rush to the Hybrid Section?
As fuel prices soar, more and more car buyers are prompted to go for hybrid cars. Since 2003, hybrid car-makers have been raking in profits from hybrid car sales. In 2004 in the US alone, hybrid car sales were almost 88,000 units. And with the increasing awareness about climate change and global warming, hybrid car sales are yet again expected to surge.
With great expectations for hybrid car sales to reach record highs in 2007, carmakers are rushing to put into the market new models, packed with all the environmental protection and fuel efficiency features that they could muster, not to mention the technological come-ons. New models are also widening the array of offerings, from compact to mid-sized sedans, to SUVs and minivans, even to pickups and trucks.
Car buyers can afford to be choosy with the broad range of hybrid units being offered in the market today. Moreover, fuel-efficiency and environmental friendliness features of these hybrids are reaching new heights, captivating a new kind of socially conscious and responsible breed of buyers.
Prices are reasonable enough to guarantee a following. Moreover, tax incentives and breaks are given to buyers of these eco-friendly hybrid units. Doing the math, the hybrid buyer is aware that he can easily recoup the few thousand dollars difference of a hybrid model over that of a conventional one, through reduced fuel consumption.
And these hybrids come safe for the buyer and his family, too. In addition to fuel efficiency, hybrid safety features are bringing in more buyers. Open the windows and the low emissions of your hybrid ensure that your kids are breathing fresher and cleaner air inside and outside the hybrid van. Navigation and stability systems for the hybrids are also a notch higher, adding to the safety factor more. A hybrid car buyer is assured of efficiency not only fuel-wise, but overall car performance-wise.
As buyers become more fuel-price conscious and more aware of climate change and the effects of greenhouse gases; as they realize that safety is paramount, and begin to expect comfort and enjoyment from riding safe and eco-friendly vehicles, hybrid car sales will continue to rise. Car makers are thus capitalizing on this trend and are coming up with one innovative hybrid model after another. Every car dealer will surely have one hybrid in his stable.