September 7, 2007
It's just a hunch at this stage, but Guru is prepared to stick his neck out and declare that new car sales are slowing dramatically.
Guru is basing this theory on nothing more than small-sample observation, but nevertheless he is confident in his prediction. We'll have to wait until the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) publishes its September new car registration figures to confirm or refute Guru's assertion.
The SMMT currently reports that total year-to-date registrations are up 2.2% to 1,521,225 units.
But, one week into September, Guru hasn't seen the usual influx of new-registration cars. Since the "57" number plates came into existence on 1 September, Guru has counted just half a dozen shiny cars and vans bearing the new digits.
Statistically, Guru's observations don't add up to a crisis for the British motor retail trade, but Yours Truly is willing to make a small wager that there is trouble ahead for the country's car dealers.
