News 10 www.aftermarketonline.net NOVEMBER 2024 Four UK garages are to pilot new Bridgestone plans for a future network of ‘e-Centres’ to boost the brand’s environmental, social and governance requirements for tyre retailers. Bridgestone unveiled the e-Centres blueprint on October 8 after working on the concept with professional services firm EY. The brand also conducted research in the UK that indicated more than a third of motorists value garages with “responsible recycling practices”. Under the concept, retailers will be assessed against 85 standards before they attain e-Centre or ‘e-Centre Pioneer’ status. Bridgestone said it plans to invest £1 million in assessing hundreds of tyre retailers across Europe over the next couple of years, with the intention of accrediting 150 sites as e-Centres. E-Centre Pioneer depots will represent a massive departure from a conventional garage aesthetically, Bridgestone said. Importantly, they will also adhere to a number of best practices including solar panel installations, staff training on premium product performance and road safety initiatives and “hyperlocal donation campaigns” to support their local communities, Bridgestone said. Renewable energy Bridgestone’s head of marketing for the UK and Ireland Andy Mathias, who is also the e-Centres project lead, said the brand’s own research sought to gain a better understanding of motorists’ mindsets concerning automotive retail and future mobility. According to the research*, 23% of respondents would be more likely to visit a garage if it had proven sustainability credentials, whether it be renewable energy sources or effective adoption of EV practices. In addition, 36% of motorists would pay more to a garage that responsibly recycles its tyres, the research indicated. *The brand’s research was conducted online last January by Research Without Barriers among a representative sample of 2,000 UK car owners. UK garages in Bridgestone ‘e-Centre’ pilot New car registrations edged up by 1% year-on-year in September — driven by growth in the fleet market, according to latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The SMMT said registrations were 275,239 in the key ‘74’ plate change month of September. In what is traditionally a bumper month for new car registrations, second only to March, the performance was the best since 2020, but still down nearly 20% on pre-Covid September 2019, the SMMT said. Fleet purchases were up nearly 4% to 149,095 units, representing 54.2% of the overall market. Hybrids Meanwhile, private consumer demand fell by -1.8% to 120,272 units, accounting for 43.7% of registrations, while the smaller business sector saw volumes fall -8.4% to 5,872 units. The uptake of plug-in hybrids grew faster than any other fuel type in the month, up 32.1% to take an 8.9% share of the market. Hybrid electric vehicle registrations rose 2.6%, boosting market share to 14.2%, while petrol and diesel registrations declined by -9.3% and -7.1% respectively, although together they were still the choice of 56.4% of buyers in September, the SMMT said. Demand for the latest battery electric vehicles (BEV) hit a new record volume for any month in September, up 24.4% to 56,387 units, achieving a 20.5% share of the overall market, up from 16.6% a year ago. Heavy EV discounting shored up demand, but the SMMT said this was not enough to shift market share significantly, which edged up from 17.2% in the first eight months, to 17.8% from January- September. It is expected to reach 18.5% by the end of the year. Fleets drove much of this growth, with deliveries rising 36.8% to account for nearly 76% of BEV registrations. ‘Market weakness’ Britain’s new light commercial vehicle (LCV) market grew for the second month running in September, up 8.3% to record the best performance for the month in four years. SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said the record EV performance was good news, “but look under the bonnet and there are serious concerns as the market is not growing quickly enough to meet mandated targets. “Despite manufacturers spending billions on both product and market support — support that the industry cannot sustain indefinitely — market weakness is putting environmental ambitions at risk and jeopardising future investment.” New car registrations rise, but ‘EV concerns remain’ Mike Hawes
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