UK sales slide continues: 'worst market for 17 years'

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 06 October 2008 12:22 Britain's new car market is in deep trouble, official sales figures today confirm. September is historically one of the two biggest registration months of the year, as buyers rush to snap up the autumn's new number plate – yet sales were down by a fifth last month. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which collates sales data from dealers, called it 'stormy September', as new-car registrations plummeted by 21 percent from last year's figure to 330,295.

Porsche opens new Weissach design studio

Porsche has officially opened its new design center. Located at its Weissach development center, the facility includes interior and exterior design departments, plus a dedicated area for concept car construction. According to Porsche chairman, Matthias Müller, the architecture of the new studio has been designed to allow the firm's "creative developers to work hand-in-hand even more methodically than before." The new design center is one of three new buildings opened at the site, which have been built as part of a $200million investment at Weissach.

Used car sales return to pre-recession levels

As the UK’s buoyant new car sales figures continue to buck the European trend, it was only a matter of time before this had a positive knock-on effect on sales of used cars. Now, according to figures released in the latest BCA Used Car Market Report, used car sales hit 7.1 million last year, outpacing new car sales by 6.4% and, even more crucially, returning to pre-recession levels. Best used car buys for 2013 On Bing: see pictures of used cars In fact, a record £38.1 billion worth of used cars were sold in 2012, £5.8 billion more than was spent on new cars.