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Brands’ match
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Both Mitsubishi and Renault made big gains in
the latest quarterly edition of credit checker Experian’s Hitwise
UK Automotive Brand Index, measuring the market share of brands
people were looking for using online search engines.
The top four brands that people searched for
online remained unchanged – Ford, Vauxhall, BMW, Audi – and
accounted for 39.89% of searches by marque name.
Renault climbed three places to
12th and should be pleased with Experian’s note that
roughly one in every hundred searches for the brand also included
the term “electric”, given
the French manufacturer’s emphasis on alternatively powered
vehicles in the UK this year.
Mitsubishi,
which has similar electric ambitions, climbed four places,
putting it back in the top 20 after two quarters out.
Sales and income steady at Mitsubishi
The Japanese carmaker has announced a 1%
drop in income from sales for the first nine months of the fiscal
year 2011/12, compared to the same period 2010/11, despite a 5%
rise in units sold.
From 1 April to 31 December, Mitsubishi sold
755,000 units worldwide, including 103,000 sold in Japan (down
13%), 82,000 sold in North America (up 24%), and 174,000 units sold
in Europe, which the manufacturer attributes to high Russian
sales.
Much like compatriot marque Honda, Mitsubishi attributes its
losses to a combination of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and
the Thai floods.
As such, the brand has forecast 1.013m units
in global sales for the full fiscal year, down 1.88% on October’s
prediction, forecasts for profit and income from sales remain the
same.
Hyundai PCH and part-ex offers
Korean manufacturer Hyundai is looking to
capitalise on a
busy past 12 months for its dealerships and sales with a couple
of finance and part-exchange deals.
The i10 is available at £109 per month on
personal contract hire and selected models of the i20 are available
at £129 per month.
Alternatively, 7-10-year-old vehicles can be
traded in for a minimum part-exchange allowance worth no more than
£3,000 to be redeemed against a new i10 or i20. The offer is
extended to 4-10-year-old vehicles in part-exchange for a new
i30.
Another new dealership for
SsangYong
Hyundai’s fellow Korean marque SsangYong is
also staying active with another new UK dealership following
last week’s announcement that GMAC will be the brand’s finance
partner.
Rawlinson SsangYong in Bury St Edmonds,
Suffolk, becomes the latest outlet for the manufacturer following
recent openings in Wolverhampton, Russington and Strabane.
richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com
