Latest news with #salestrends
Auto Express
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Auto Express
Chinese cars will take over as Britain's best sellers
If you're after an accurate insight into the winners and losers doing battle in Britain's new-car showrooms in 2025, look no further than the industry figures covering the period from 1 January to 30 June. They've just been released and, to my mind, reveal crucially important buying trends that indicate the new direction of travel among paying customers in the UK. Like never before, buyers appear to be deserting some traditional brands and countries, and gravitating towards alternative car makers and vehicle-producing nations. Advertisement - Article continues below Italy is one victim of the shift. Fiat, Abarth and Maserati sales are, respectively, down 24, 55 and 38 per cent so far in 2025. True, Alfa Romeo is up 50 per cent, but this is from a very low base. Brits are still buying an average of just seven Alfas a day. As for French brands, Citroen is down 41 per cent, DS 64. Peugeot is doing much better, with a 40 per cent rise, Renault is up 16 and Alpine has jumped 49. Sales for South Korea's Genesis, Hyundai and Kia are rising. But for most Japanese firms, they're sliding. Only two of its small brands – Lexus (up nine) and Mazda (up 34) – have improved. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below Of the Germans, Audi is down 18 per cent, BMW six and Mercedes seven. But Volkswagen is up 13 and Porsche has improved by five, thereby overtaking volume brands Citroen, Fiat and Suzuki, with Honda and SEAT likely to be passed in the coming months. More importantly as far as Britain and its workers are concerned, the rise and rise of Porsche and its 9,531 sales in the first six months of 2025 compares with just 1,725 for arch-rival Jaguar (down 84 per cent), which hasn't sold a single new car for months. Ineos is down 10, while Land Rover and MINI are up seven and two respectively. Low-volume Bentley (up 12) is now the fastest-growing (in percentage terms) British car firm. Advertisement - Article continues below But the most significant performers in the UK from January to June have been China and its car makers. Dramatic examples include BYD, whose sales are 568 per cent higher than this time last year, thereby enabling it to overtake countless firms from Britain, mainland Europe, South Korea, North America and Japan (Mazda included). Sales for Jaecoo and Omoda have skyrocketed in 2025 from zero to several thousand each. Also just starting from scratch are Leapmotor and XPeng, who are both already selling hundreds of new models, with sales of thousands, then tens of thousands, planned. Skywell has just landed here, too. And in recent days there's been official confirmation that the Geely and Chery brands are also en route to Blighty. The next logical step is for China to take over as the nation that tops the UK's new-car sales chart. With its resources and vehicles at the right retail prices, it's not a case of if Chinese cars collectively take over as the best sellers in Britain. It's when. Did you know you can sell your car through Auto Express ? We'll help you get a great price and find a great deal on a new car, too . Find a car with the experts Renault 5 Monte Carlo Edition pays homage to the Clio Williams Renault 5 Monte Carlo Edition pays homage to the Clio Williams The Renault 5 Monte Carlo Edition has been created by Dutch company Re-volve and is limited to just 25 units New Xiaomi YU7 2025 review: a world-beating new EV to worry the establishment New Xiaomi YU7 2025 review: a world-beating new EV to worry the establishment BMW or Mercedes would do anything to keep the new Xiaomi YU7 from sale in the UK and Europe, and this is why Range Rover's secret mid-size EV: Inside its £500m factory Range Rover's secret mid-size EV: Inside its £500m factory We take an exclusive look inside JLR's revamped Liverpool site as the brand gears up for EV production
Forbes
26-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Sales Trends On Main Street
Since 2020, the percent of firms reporting positive sales trends has trended downward (Chart 1). Reports of gains rose strongly between 2016 and 2019 but were interrupted by Covid in 2020. Sales then improved, but temporarily. After the initial improvement, sales have steadily declined ever since. Most recently, there has been an uptick in positive reports, but no clear trend has emerged. Sales are the lifeblood of small firms, supporting hiring and production activities. Chart 1: Actual Sales Changes. NFIB Small Business Economic Trends. Looking ahead to the next three months, owners are not very optimistic about future sales. In May, only 17% of all firms expect their real sales volume to increase, while 31% predict a decline (Chart 2). Nearly half (47%) of the non-professional service firms were optimistic about future sales trends, although nearly as many (40%) expect declines. Firms in the construction industry are quite optimistic as well, although about as many see a darker picture. Manufacturing firms seem to be on board with President Trump's re-industrialization campaign, landing at a net 8% expecting improved sales. However, only 5% of professional service firms expect sales gains, and 41% expect declines. Chart 2: Small Business Expectations of their Real Sales Volume. NFIB Small Business Economic ... More Trends. Looking at the NFIB Index of Small Business Optimism by industry (Chart 3), significant differences appear as well (expected sales are included in the Index). Optimism is highest in the construction and manufacturing industries, followed by finance and non-professional services (which are also leaders in positive sales expectations, as seen in Chart 2). The wholesale, retail, and agriculture industries, which are more directly dependent on consumer spending, all scored below 100 on the Index. Chart 3: Optimism Index by Industry. NFIB Small Business Economic Trends. Overall, the expectations for sales improvement are not very optimistic. Significant variations across industries are likely a reflection of policy uncertainty and expectations (interest rates, tax policy, and industrial focus), most of which will hopefully be resolved over the next few months.
