Iceland Passenger Car Sales : 2024 (Jan-Apr)

Passenger car registrations are well down for 2024 in Iceland. They were -46% YTD but only -16% for April. In such an environment, there are usually drastic changes in fortunes. In addition, being a small volume market, a shipment of vehicles can change things quickly. 

A case in point is shown with Dacia and Hyundai. Combined, they took a third of the total sales in April. That pushed them to the top of the ladder. Toyota is a long time leader here but a rampant Tesla knocked it off its perch in 2023. It's now third but there is plenty of time to remedy that anomaly. 

The data below is for market share change in comparison with total registrations in 2023. Tesla has lost 80% of its share when sales are already down a half! Maybe there's a boat coming soon ladened with cars. It's surprising to see Land Rover so high in any market but it does seem to have strong starts to the year here. 

Data source: Samgongustofa.

UK Vehicle Production : 2024 (Jan-Mar)

The global car markets had been underserviced by stock for some time with COVID and supply issues so pent up demand meant that production was strong. That seems to have been sated and volume is slipping. Prices hav also been climbing as demand exceeded supply. Are prices now going to soften to keep factories busy? 

Passenger car production in the UK fell 27% in March but thanks to a good first two months numbers were still up 1%. One could expect that 2024 will not be the equal of the year before.  

Commercial vehicle volume was -19% in March but still up 27.4% YTD. Production for the home market has taken a battering, -28% in March and -13% YTD. Exports were -13% In March but up an impressive 58% YTD.

Put it all together and it mirrors the passenger car data due to the overwhelmingly greater volume that is involved. The numbers aren't flash but considering the apathy within the UK for its motor vehicle industry hardly surprising.  

With two manufacturers providing sales figures each month, they are listed here. Nissan accounted for 32% of the total and Toyota 13%. I appreciate their openness. 

Data source: SMMT, manufacturers.

Singapore Passenger Car Sales : Q1 2024

Registrations were up 42% in March and 26% YTD. With the artificial way in which car sales are handled here, the ups and downs tell us little other than how many certificates were available at any given time. 

We can learn more when looking at brands. Toyota / Lexus combination leads although if separated it would be Mercedes-Benz in front. BYD has come from nowhere to third, elbowing BMW out of the way in the process, despite the latter doing well.

As for changes, the Toyota / Lexus market share is the lowest since 2013, BMW the highest since that year ironically. Nissan's share is the best since 2017 but Audi is currently residing at its lowest point going back to 2008. It's also of note that for 2024, Rolls Royce registrations are down 73% on last year's complete 2023, Bentley 55% lower and Ferrari off 77%. 

While all the variances above are not what one would normally see, in a market that is controlled with a limited certificate system, not all that surprising. 

Data source: LTA.