What you need to know

This report provides a review of the UK car market. It addresses developments that are taking place in terms of sales as well as changes taking place in the structure of the market. The report looks in detail at the performance of manufacturers and brands as well as perceptions of brands and how consumers currently view some of the leading brands in the market. Innovation is a key area within the car market and the report highlights both general and specific developments that are occurring. The UK car review benefits from extensive consumer research which examines a number of issues such as payment methods used when purchasing, the role of online and attitudes towards various issues, as well as views on alternatives to car ownership.

The car market is diverse with sales comprising both new and used vehicles. Following the economic slowdown suffered by the UK in 2008/09 the market has been on an upward curve with annual sales estimated by Mintel at 9.93 million units in 2015. Used cars dominate the market in terms of annual sales. Increased reliability of modern cars is helping to broaden the age of the car parc, resulting in 21.7% of cars being 12 years or older as of 2014 according to the SMMT. Current interest from consumers is focused on a number of segments. These include smaller vehicles as well as those that offer greater versatility, such as MPVs (Multipurpose Vehicles) and SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles), both of which are seeing strong growth in sales. Interest in trading up is also evident within the market as well as renewed interest recently by some buyers in value added vehicles.

Scope of this report

This report is exclusively focused on passenger vehicles, and therefore excludes any discussion of the market for light commercial vehicles or fleet vehicles.

It presents a review of the UK market for passenger vehicles and the dynamics of the sector, as well as reviewing trends in areas such as category and brand share.

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