Dear colleague,
It has been an extremely busy week for the NFDA and the automotive sector. The latest new and used car registration figures were released, shining a positive light on the sector and its state of recovery post pandemic. In October, the new car market has risen 14.3% year on year; the van market has risen 17.7% year on year; the motorcycle market has risen 0.8% year on year; and the used car market has expanded 5.5% during the third quarter. All markets following a convincing trajectory, showing signs of a robust market with growing consumer confidence to invest in private mobility. Let us hope that the closing stages of the year follow suit!
The first King’s speech in over 70 years took place on Tuesday and has given us an insight into the direction the government will take towards the automotive industry as we build up to the Autumn Statement. The key takeaways from the speech for the wider automotive industry included Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, an Automated Vehicles Bill, and an introduction of ‘Advanced British Standard’ (ABS) qualification for schools. We will continue to monitor updates from government closely and you will find in this edition of NFDA news a dive into the latest policy issues.
NFDA returned to AM Live this week and it was great to see that the buzz for trade events has also returned, with an extremely busy and well attended conference. We have put together an article in today’s news outlining some of the key takeaways from the conference, including a significant first-hand account from Arnold Clark’s Eddie Hawthorne, sharing pointers to help plan your digital defence against cybercrime. I would like to extend another huge thank you to NFDA’s retained legal advisor, Miles Trower, TLT Partner, for his participation in the Big Agency Debate on behalf of automotive retailers yesterday, a session that was exceptionally well attended. Miles discussed the commercial and regulatory risk perspective, particularly in the face of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act which looks set to be a key focal point of the government’s agenda for the upcoming Parliamentary session. For more information or advice relating to agency, or any concerns you may have, please reach out to the NFDA directly.
