Good news for small business supply chain – New car registrations continue to improve, up 9.3% in July

Good news for small businesses in the automotive supply chain from The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) this morning:

New car registrations continue to improve, up 9.3% in July

•    New car registrations rose 9.3% in July to 143,884 units – the fifth monthly gain in a row and the best of 2012.
•    Registrations over the first seven months have risen more than 40,000 units or 3.5% to 1,201,564 units.
•    All fuel types showed increased volumes in July, with alternatively-fuelled registrations up 45.9% in the month.
•    SMMT has revised up its full year forecast for 2012 to 1.97 million units, compared with 1.94 million in 2011.

“New car registrations rose 9.3% in July, continuing the upward trend seen during recent months. SMMT’s full year forecast is for 1.97 million cars to be registered during 2012 suggesting a slight slowing of demand in the second half of the year,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. “International economic stability remains a concern for vehicle manufacturers and the UK market, but intense competition and new fuel efficient products are creating great opportunities for motorists.”

Why is this really good news for small businesses?

The automotive industry in the UK already accounts for over 719,000 people employed across manufacturing, retail and aftermarket sectors with about 145,000 people directly employed in 3,200 automotive manufacturing firms and their suppliers. It is, however, a sector where a majority of employment remains in small and medium sized firms (SMEs).

More than 52% of employment in England’s automotive manufacturing is in firms with less than 500 staff (76,300 jobs) but these make up nearly 99% of all firms in the sector. In common with many industrial sectors a small number of large firms (less than 50 in total) provide the balance of employment (69,500 jobs) <source The Smith Institute >

Christian Lister
SMEambassador