Automotive Services Market Continues to Benefit from a Steady Increase in the Number of Cars on UK Roads.DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c92967) has announced the addition of Automotive Services Market Report 2008 to their offering. The UK market for automotive services was worth an estimated PS15.81bn in 2007, having increased by 2.4% on 2006 and by 16.8% since 2003. Expenditure on automotive services continues to benefit from a steady increase in the number of cars on UK roads, from sales of new and used cars (which amounted to around 10 million in 2007) and from the annual MOT test MOT test Noun (in Britain) a compulsory annual test of the roadworthiness of motor vehicles over 3 years old Noun 1. MOT test - a compulsory annual test of older motor vehicles for safety and exhaust fumes , which around a third of the vehicles tested fail. Automotive services, as defined by this Key Note Market Report, covers three main sectors: car servicing and mechanical repairs; car body repairs; and car breakdown and recovery services. The largest of these sectors is car servicing and mechanical repairs, which is served by a range of organisations, including franchised car dealers, independent garages, garage chains, autocentres, fast-fit centres and mobile service units. The second-largest sector is car body repairs. Growth in the value of this sector is being affected by declining prices for both new and used cars and the limits that insurance companies are willing to pay for bodywork bodywork /body·work/ (-wurk?) a general term for therapeutic methods that center on the body for the promotion of physical health and emotional and spiritual well-being, including massage, various systems of touch and manipulation, repairs. Car breakdown and recovery services make up the smallest sector, which, though mature, provides an essential service for millions of motorists. A British Standards British Standards are the national standards of the UK. The standards body which produces them is BSI British Standards, a division of BSI Group. It is incorporated under a Royal Charter and is formally designated as the National Standards Body (NSB) for the UK. Institution (BSI BSI - British Standards Institute ) Kitemark for the crash-repair sector, which sets out rigorous quality standards for the entire crash-repair process and includes the methods and materials to be used in the repair, was introduced in February 2007. The Kitemark has attracted growing support and, in February 2008, 1 year after its launch, 51 crash-repair specialists had received the Kitemark certificate and five times that number were at the application stage. Many major car-insurance companies are in favour of the Kitemark and are strongly encouraging their approved bodyshops to embrace the scheme. The MOT Computerisation system, which was introduced in April 2005, has brought the biggest change to the MOT Scheme since its introduction in 1960. The system involves an electronic record of all MOT tests conducted in Great Britain Great Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 60,441,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain. being made and replacing the old, paper certificate as definitive proof of MOT status. The service also enables motorists to check a vehicle MOT status and history over the Internet, thereby improving consumer protection. Prior to its introduction, there was speculation within the MOT trade that garage staff would not enjoy working with the system and that it would lead to some garages voluntarily leaving the Scheme. However, these fears have not been realised and, by December 2007, more than 18,900 garages were using the computerised system. New car registrations in the UK are forecast to fall by around 2.7% in 2008, as a result of slowing economic growth, relatively high interest rates and weakening consumer confidence. On the positive side, the volume of used-car sales in the UK is still around three times as large as new-car sales and the number of cars on UK roads looks set to rise further. This should provide a firm base for future growth in the automotive services market. Companies Mentioned: The Automobile Association Automobile Association may refer to:
Halfords Group PLC Inchcape PLC Inchcape plc (LSE: INCH) is a British based leading independent, international automotive retailer, with scale operations in Australia, Belgium, Greece, Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK. Kwik-Fit Group Ltd Lookers Lookers is a car dealership chain in the United Kingdom with over 90 dealerships turning over in excess of £1bn annually. Reg Vardy In January 2006, Lookers offered 875p per share for larger rival Reg Vardy. PLC Nationwide Accident Repair Services PLC Pendragon PLC Pendragon PLC is a multi-national operator of franchised motorcar dealerships in the United Kingdom with international outlets in the United States and Germany. This member of the Pendragon Group focuses on a variety of luxury cars marketed under the Stratstone name which include Rac PLC This article is about the British motoring organisation. For the private club, see Royal Automobile Club. RAC plc (Better known as just the RAC) is a breakdown company in the United Kingdom supplying a range of products and services for motorists. For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c92967 |
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