Day: February 18, 2021

New car orders struggle ahead of March plate change

By Betty C. Morrow 1 week ago


a car parked in a parking lot: Empty new car showroom

© Provided by Motoring Research
Empty new car showroom

Retailers are reporting new car orders for the new March 21-series registration plate are down by as much as half as a 39.5 percent sales decline in January 2021 looks set to continue.

There are early signs of a similar decline in February 2021.

Automotive service company Cox Automotive surveyed car retailers and 3 in 4 reported a downturn in forward orders for March 2021 of between 10 percent and 50 percent, compared to 2020.

“Q1 is a critical period” said Cox Automotive strategy director Philip Nothard, “and it’s vital that showrooms are able to re-open as soon as possible.”

However, lockdown isn’t the only challenge faced by car dealers – and may actually be masking some of the other issues.

There are issues with new car supply related to the Brexit deal, said Mr Nothard, “with border frictions continuing and

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Meet the McLaren Artura, a Lightweight Hybrid That’s Heavy on Performance

By Betty C. Morrow 1 week ago

When racer Bruce McLaren said “Life is measured in achievement, not in years alone,” who would have imagined how prescient those words would prove to be? It’s an observation that rings true not only in regards to McLaren’s own life, tragically cut short at 32 years of age in a motorsport accident, but for the automaker that now bears his name.

First appearing on the scene as McLaren Cars in 1985 before being rechristened McLaren Automotive in 2010, the British marque has exerted a substantial impact on the supercar industry, one that belies its relatively short history. McLaren’s latest attempt to alter the landscape debuted today: the McLaren Artura, a model touted as the brand’s first series-production high-performance hybrid, and which joins the 720S in the brand’s Super Series category.

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It’s true the new plug-in hybrid doesn’t signal an entirely new direction for McLaren,

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