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It’s March, which traditionally means two things: there’s a bit of a car industry do in Switzerland and dealers start selling the new plate.
We used the opportunity to speak to several carmaker bosses for some early feedback on the 15-plate and the advance word is positive. The expectation is that the market will be up year on year to a new record but this could be where things start to peak as registrations start to track last year more closely from Q2.
It’s impossible to come away from the Geneva Motor Show without feeling upbeat. As the first major European car show of the year this is where the latest wave of models are revealed prior to entering UK showrooms over the coming months.
This year was no different with important debutants filling the Geneva halls and many UK dealers on hand to see in the metal the cars they will soon be selling. Aside from all the exotica which saw Bentley, Rolls Royce and Aston Martin hint at future directions was an abundance of production ready cars.
A clear message from the show is that crossovers, already the fastest growing sector, are about to get a massive injection of new models and new entrants. Honda, this month’s front cover star, returns to the sector with the HR-V, based on the new Jazz it is pitched at the top-end of the B-segment. Whilst the Tivoli, an attractive new entrant from SsangYong, is set to become the entry-point with pricing expected to be around the highly competitive £13,000 mark. Suzuki is back in the sector with the Vitara and Infiniti hinted at its intentions with the thinly disguised QX30 Concept which will be built in Sunderland.
Renault dealers, after the success of the Captur, will be delighted to finally be able to compete in the class above with the Kadjar. It may not be a great name but with its underpinnings and some of its good looks shared with the Nissan Qashqai it should get off to a flying start.
Back to the future and Seat showed its 20V20 crossover concept and Infiniti hinted at its intentions with the thinly disguised QX30 Concept.
These are all to come, in the meantime here’s wishing you a busy March.