Christopher Macgowan Strong Quotations

Export volumes continue to boost car production in the UK. Eight in every ten cars made in the UK in November is destined for export markets and we expect the 2005 total to reach record volumes and market share. Overall car output in 2005 should hit 1.6 million units, a little down on 2004 but still a strong performance.

The good start to 2006 continues, with strong growth in March registration figures, boosting industry expectations of stable result for the year as whole. 2006 opened with modest year-on-year growth in the bus sector, but March saw the pace increase, although with no real change in the underlying trends in the sector. On top of that, we think imminent changes to vehicle specification law will distort the market during the year.

Improvements in efficiency, on top of strong export demand, have helped boost commercial vehicle production.