The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has published Motor Industry Facts 2010, the annual pocket guide to the motor industry. The 2010 booklet is packed full of facts and figures on R &D, production, vehicle registrations (cars, commercial vehicles, buses and coaches),vehicles in use and their safety and environmental performances.

Based on 2009 data some of the key facts are as follows;

Manufacturing

• In 2009, 76.3% of all cars and 77.5% of commercial vehicles produced in the UK were exported.
• More than two million engines and one million cars were actually manufactured in the UK.
• UK automotive suppliers supports over 180,000 jobs in the UK, supplies over 100 markets worldwide and contributes to 640,000 UK jobs in automotive supply, retail and servicing.

Environment

• The average new car CO2 emissions fell at their fastest rate on 2009 and now sit at 149.5g/km.
• Less than 6% of all new cars registered in the UK in 2009 emitted more than 200g/km of CO2 emissions.

Registrations

• The supermini segment was the winner in new car registrations in 2009 at 37.2%
• Diesel share rose in seven of the nine segments in 2009, when compared to 2008.
• The UK car market is the fourth largest in Europe.
• Total car registrations in 2009 sat at 1,994,999 and commercial vehicles at 225,455. 

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has announced it will run a half -day session for commercial van operators on the role of telematics,in cutting fuel costs and CO2 emissions. Van traffic is up by 40% over the last ten years and van operators make a large contribution to congestion and CO2 emissions.

Robin Dickeson, manager, commercial vehicle affairs at the SMMT said,”The aim is to start discussion and make people aware of the big savings in fuel use, emissions and cash that are available right now from the intelligent use of telematics. Telematics should offers savings of at least 10% within 10 days,while we’ll have to wait longer for most other technologies to make the same difference”.

The seminar is on the 24th march at SMMT’s London head office and is free to SMMT members. Non-members can attend by paying a nominal fee of £50+VAT. Telematics is one way to reduce your fuel costs however choosing the right commercial van by its fuel consumption is also important. The Super Shopper quote engine on Comparecontracthire.com allows fleet operators to sort vans (and cars) by CO2 emissions or combined mpg and data is provided by CAP, the UK’s leading vehicle information provider.

The green motoring website, cleangreencars.co.uk, has reported that the average CO2 of all new cars, registered in 2009, fell by 5.6% to 149.8g/km. This is a record 8.9g/km less than a year ago and continues the trend of falling CO2 emissions year on year.

There are now two manufacturers (whose range includes four seat models and not just two seat city cars) who have now met the EU 2012 target of producing all cars with an average CO2 of 130g/km. Both Toyota and (127.9g/km) and Fiat (129.7g/km) are leading the way with MINI in third at 131.7g/km. Hyundai also gets a mention in fourth place and Ford saved over 30,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2009.

Finding all available new production low CO2 cars at one source is always a chore, however try the Super Shopper where you can choose all manufacturers and set the CO2 ranges you are looking for. All models currently available will then be shown. 

The full report from cleangreencars.co.uk can be found at;

www.cleangreencars.co.uk/jsp/cgcmain.jsp?lnk=370

Mazda5 C-MAV

The new Mazda5 C-MAV model is set be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2010. This all-new C-MAV vehicle features rear sliding doors, offers up to 7-seating passenger capacity in the cabin and should suit families with active lifestyles.

The all-new Mazda5 is fitted with a new 2.0-litre DISI petrol engine equipped with i-stop and a six speed manual gearbox. There is a 1.8-litre petrol engine option as well. The new car is expected to go on sale across Europe later this year and Mazda is promising an approximate reduction in CO2 emissions.

The SMMT has released details of the new vehicle registration figures for December and the 2009 year to date position. The main headlines are as follows;

New Car registration headlines

• New car registrations in December 2009 rose by 38.9% to 150,936 units.
• However full year registrations are down 6.4% to 1,994,999 units, the lowest level since 1995.
• The scrappage scheme accounted for over a fifth of all new car registrations in 2009 and is estimated to be 20.8% of the December car market.
• Average CO2 emissions fell again by 5.4% from the 2008 level, to 149.5g/km in 2009.

Paul Everitt, chief executive of the SMMT said,”The December new car market was boosted by the Scrappage Incentive Scheme and consumers looking to avoid January’s VAT increase. The 2009 market of 1,994,999 new car registrations was significantly above early expectations and reflects the positive impact of the scheme, due to end in February.  

He went onto say,” Sustaining the progress made in the latter part of 2009 will require stronger demand from fleet and business buyers, alongside the greater availability and affordability of credit and finance”.

New Van and trucks headlines 

• Total registrations in December were 16,131 units.
• The 2009 figure was 221,132, which is 36.2% down.
• Van registrations were 14,037 in December and 186,386 for year, which is down 35.6%
• Truck registrations were 2,094 in December and 34,746 for the year – down 39.5% for the year.

Mr Everitt commented.” Van demand dropped sharply in 2009, though eased at the year-end. Truck registrations dropped further and faster in the final months of the year. Business demand and consumer confidence remains low and the effects of the recession will be slow to clear in key parts of the commercial vehicle markets”.

Full data is available off the SMMT website @ www.smmt.co.uk

e-motive scooter

The innovative e-motive range of scooters employs the very latest electric motor and battery technology to get riders from A to B without any CO2 emissions.

Popping a set of keys to one these in your Christmas stocking will give you road tax exemption, no congestion charges, no engine noise, no pollution and best of all will cost you as little as one penny per mile to run.

All you need to do is plug the scooter into a normal domestic socket to charge it up and it’s ready to go. The range starts from £1,399 and full details can be found at the e-motive website.

Prius PHV

Toyota Motor Corporation has confirmed the introduction of the new Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, a plug-in version of their third generation Prius petrol-electric hybrid vehicle. The Prius Plug-in Vehicle (PHV) will offer a great range on electric power only due to the usage of lithium-ion batteries.

Toyota plans to produce 600 units in Japan, USA and Europe with only 20 units coming to the UK initially by mid 2010. The Prius PHV car can be charged using an external power source such as a household electric outlet and is the first Toyota vehicle to be propelled by a lithium-ion battery. CO2 emissions for the Prius PHV are 59g/km (as per the New European Driving Cycle).

Plug-in Hybrid

The Prius PHVs cars will be leased to government ministries, local governments, corporations including utility companies, universities and research agencies for use in a vehicle demonstration programme. Data will be then be collected to be used in driving forward Toyota’s battery charging infrastucture.

Nissan NV200

The generously equipped Nissan NV200 prices have now been released with Nissan contract hire prices also available now. This Nissan van offers class leading CO2 emissions of only 137g/km and a cargo capacity of 4.16 cubic metres.

Two models are available in a 1.5-litre four cylinder diesel engine - the entry level E-panel van and the SE version. The E-panel van comes with many standard options including a CD audio system and MP3 aux jack plus keyless entry. Step up to the SE and you also get electric front windows and a full steel bulkhead. A Combi version with seven seats will also join the range later next year with prices available around February 2010.

BMW has cut its average CO2 emissions across its range of cars by more than any other automotive manufacturer, according to an independent report by the European Federation for Transport and Environment.

BMW 118D

The average reduction across the industry was 3.3 per cent and BMW managed 10.2 per cent, mainly thanks to its EfficentDynamics programme. EfficentDynamics includes things like Auto Start-Stop, Brake Energy Regeneration and Active Aerodynamics.

This technology is incorporated into both BMW and MINI cars, bringing the average CO2 emissions for the range down to 154g/km (2008) from 172g/km (2007 figure). BMW and MINI car leasing prices are available now.

Car Comparator

Honda (UK) has just launched a new comparison tool which will enable you to easily compare any Honda car with that of another brand. The new comparison tool looks at the total life car running costs showing you how much you are likely to spend if you end up buying instead of car leasing.

The comparator also looks at standard “on the road prices”, CO2 emissions, fuel economy, company car tax, VED band, insurance group and the key features of the cars. Data is supplied by CAP monitor who are an independent vehicle information Company. CAP supplies all the data for the Vehicle Information shopper on Comparecontracthire.com as well. Honda Finance is also a partner on the site so if you are interested in seeing Honda contract hire (car leasing) prices as well they are readily available.