Automotive specialist customer insight and review service casts an eye over the year’s politics thought the lens of used car volume.
Whatever your political affiliations, 2019 was pretty memorable. We saw two Brexit deadlines missed, the fall of a Prime Minister and the coronation of Boris Johnson as First Among Equals. The General Election that followed the failed Halloween Brexit date led to a fracturing of the so called “red wall” and the end of Jeremy Corbin as Labour leader.
JudgeService’s clients experience of 2019 follows the nation’s political machinations. Whilst over the full year JudgeService clients increased volume by 4%, 2019 was very much a year of two halves.
Like for like dealership sales dipped in the first six months of 2020 with uncertainty over Theresa May’s deal contributing to a 4% reduction on 2018 volumes in the first quarter. Remember the mantra, “We will be leaving the EU on 31st January,” and the subsequent political stalemate in Westminster?
The stagnation continued in April as Jaguar Land Rover halted production and deepened in May as the government stumbled towards collapse before the Prime Minister announced her resignation.
On a wave of optimism about change consumer confidence rose and we saw an increase of 6% in June 2019 v 2018 and a whopping increase of 25% in July as pent up demand found its way onto the forecourts.
August and September were up on 2018 but as we progressed towards Brexit at Halloween, sales rose by 20% once again, only to fall away in November as the election campaign took hold.
However, it was “Ho, Ho, Ho” once we’d re-elected Boris as PM as sales returned with a 21% increase in 2019 compared to Christmas 2018.
Overall sales were up 4% on 2018 and it looks like 2020 has started off well in both new and used. Let’s see what the end of January brings.
