Subaru put the best part of £5000 on every new car prior to March 1st.
EU penalties for higher emissions + falling ££
Last month - June - there were 44 New Subaru cars registered - their average last year was roughly 250 per month - the year before their total was higher but they had some diesels then
44 /mth does not sustain a brand - Infiniti had bigger numbers and folded..
Indeed - it's like the old 'tale' of why French cars were the safest on the road (because they were always broken down). Jacking up prices means not selling cars - which would mean less EU penalties, but it also means all that sales and service infrastructure is not being financed and profits not making its way to the HQ.
I can remember back in the 90s seeing LOADS of Scoobies on the road - now they are a really rare sight - I saw one the other day (the crossover, not the Impreza).
Even my own car's make - Mazda, weren'y selling anywhere near the numbers (before the lockdown) they were in the boom years of the early to mid 2000s, whilst most other makes had been doing well, especially competitors like Hyundai/KIA, who probably outsell them by a long way.
Don't see that many new Mazdas (especially Mazda2s and 3s) on the road since 5 years ago.I live reasonably near to three dealerships and still I don't see that many about.
Not helped by them 'going up-market', jacking prices up considerably but keeping those somewhat insipid engines that take up a lot of bonnet space and reduce interior/boot space, putting them at a distinct disadvantge over the competitors, even if they do look and handle great.
They also are nowhere near as good on tested CO2 emissions as their small-capacity turbo-petrol rivals, even if in real-world conditions the difference isn't anywhere near as great.
|
