Closing summary
Time to recap…
The merger between Nissan and Honda to create a new automobile giant is reportedly on the brink of collapse.
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UK government borrowing costs have dropped to their lowest since December, easing fears that Rachel Reeves’s fiscal headroom has been squished.
Borrowing costs fell after data showed a slowdown in the US economy last month, while in the UK firms cut jobs at the fastest rate in several years.
Calm has returned to the financial markets, after two days in which trade war fears gripped investors. The yuan has weakened, though, as trading resumed in China after the lunar new year break.
America’s trade deficit has widened, as firms rushed to avoid tariffs by importing goods in December.
Gold, seen as a hedge against disruption caused by Donald Trump, hit a new all-time high.
We’ll be back tomorrow, when the Bank of England is expected to cut UK interest rates at noon…. GW
FTSE 100 closes higher
Britain’s stock market has closed higher tonight, as shares recovered some of their losses from earlier this week.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index has ended the day 52.5 points higher at 8623 points, heading back towards last week’s record highs.
Pharmaceuticals firm GSK was the top rises, surging 7.6% today after raising its sales target this morning (see earlier post). That’s its biggest daily rise since 2008!
Updated
US trade deficit widens
Donald Trump’s pledge to crack down on countries who treat the US badly by running a trade surplus may have backfired!
New data today shows that America’s goods and services deficit swelled to $98.4bn in December, up $19.5bn from the $78.9bn recorded in November.
The increase was driven by a rise in imports – which rose by $12.4bn to $364.9bn, perhaps as US companies tried to beat tariffs by shipping more goods into the country.
Exports fell by $7.1bn to $266.5bn, adding to the deficit.
2024 US Trade Deficit stands at $US 920 billion; an increase of 17% compared to 2023.
— Torek Farhadi 📮 (@TorekFarhadi) February 5, 2025
The deficit jumped in December 2024, as companies and consumers purchaed more foreign made goods before the 2025 Tariffs.
Ransomware payments fell by more than a third last year to $813m (£650m) as victims refused to pay cybercriminals and law enforcement cracked down on gangs, figures reveal.
The decline in such cyber-attacks – where access to a computer or its data is blocked and money is then demanded to release it – came despite a number of high-profile cases in 2024, with victims including NHS trusts in the UK and the US doughnut firm Krispy Kreme.
Ransomware payments last year fell from a record $1.25bn in 2023, said the research firm Chainalysis, which published the payment data on Wednesday. It said payments dropped off sharply in the second half of the year, reflecting the impact of action taken against cybercriminals and a refusal to pay.
UK borrowing costs lowest since December
Good news for Rachel Reeves! The UK government’s borrowing costs have hit their lowest levels since last December.
The yield, or interest rate, on UK 10-year gilts has dropped by 10 basis points (0.1 percentage point) to 4.424%, the lowest since December 16th.
Longer-dated borrowing costs are also falling, with UK 30-year gilt yields down 11 basis points to 5.013%, also the lowest since mid-December.
That means the jump in borrowing costs last month has been entirely wiped out. That jump had sparked much concern that the chancellor might break her fiscal rules unless she raises taxes or cuts spending.
The drop in UK bond yields follows a similar recovery in US borrowing costs today, which have dropped in the last few minutes after a survey of the US services sector showed growth slowed last month.
The Institute for Supply Management’s services PMI fell to 52.8 percent, down from 54 percent in December, showing slower growth.
The report shows that business activity, new orders and employment continued to rise across America’s services companies, but a falling PMI may encourage the US central bank to ease interest rates this year (or at least not put them up!).
US Postal Service restores delivery of incoming parcels from China and Hong Kong
The US Postal Service has reversed a decision to suspend international parcel deliveries from China and Hong Kong.
It has announced it will continue accepting incoming international parcels from China and Hong Kong, after saying late Tuesday night that it would suspend them.
Although no reason was given for the initial suspension of package deliveries from China, the Postal Service suggested Wednesday it was related to broad-based new tariffs imposed Tuesday and elimination of the de minimis exemption. This exemption had allowed anyone, including exporters, to ship packages worth less than $800 to the United States without duties or needing to undergo inspections. Inspecting incoming parcels to collect the new import taxes could prove extremely difficult.
“The USPS and Customs and Border Protection are working closely together to implement an efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs to ensure the least disruption to package delivery,” the Postal Service said in a statement Wednesday.
Trading has begun on Wall Street in a muted fashion.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose by 12 points, or 0.03%, at the open, while the S&P 500 dipped by 0.2%.
The tech-focused Nasdaq fell 0.6%, dragged down by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, which is off 8% after missing Wall Street expectations last night.
Bain: M&A market poised for a comeback in 2025
Although the Nissan-Honda deal appears to be in serious trouble, 2025 could be a stronger year for M&A activity than 2024.
Consultancy firm Bain and Company’s annual global M&A report predicts that two of the fiercest M&A headwinds – the cost of capital and regulatory scrutiny – will ease this year, helping dealmakers.
They say:
Technology disruption, post-globalization, and shifting profit pools will drive dealmaking in the year ahead as interest rates and regulatory challenges are likely to recede.
The report shows that over the past three years, global M&A as a percentage of nominal GDP has hovered around the lowest levels in nearly 30 years:
Trade war fears could also drive mergers.
Bain say M&A will continue to be a big part of the response to the realignment of the global economic landscape, adding:
National economic interests are being reasserted through reviews of foreign direct investment and M&A activity on national interest grounds – and tariff policies, too.
To prepare for the second Trump administration’s proposed move to stiffen tariffs, executives are reevaluating global footprints to ensure access to attractive end markets and security of supply, which could prompt both acquisition and divestiture activity.
Artificial intelligence is also taking a bite out of M&A work. A Bain survey found one in three M&A practitioners will be using generative AI in dealmaking by the end of the year, and the company predicts gen-AI will enable every step of the M&A process in the next five years.
“Whatever you say about the automotive sector right now, it is not boring,” comments Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
He writes:
“After the week started with European carmakers staring down the barrel of tariffs from the Trump administration, there is now the news that Nissan’s merger with Honda is falling apart.
“Honda executing a three-point turn to propose Nissan becomes a fully owned subsidiary rather than bringing both names together under a jointly owned holding company means already fractious talks on the tie-up may have run out of road.
“Nissan’s negotiating position hasn’t been helped by its weak financial performance which has seen its market value plummet.
“Elsewhere, Toyota is in an acceleration phase after upgrading its full-year profit forecast and announcing plans to expand in China.
“While the West struggles with the transition to electric vehicles, China is pulling ahead in terms of adoption and Toyota has a bold plan to capture share in this market with plans to build a Lexus factory in Shanghai.
“Domestic electric vehicle makers have managed to undercut their global counterparts in China but Toyota clearly feels it can compete and, unlike some rivals, it has a strong balance sheet to underwrite its expansion strategy.
“The company has been well placed thanks to its focus on hybrid vehicles which are proving popular with motorists in the West beset with range anxiety about EVs, however there are signs this hybrid boom is starting to ease.”
US payroll growth beats forecasts
Employment at US companies picked up last month by more than forecast, an indication of resilient job growth.
Despite mounting geopolitical uncertainty. US private payrolls rose by 183,000 last month, beating forecasts of a 150,000 gain.
ADP Research also revised December’s payroll growth higher too, to 176,000.
U.S. January ADP Nonfarm Payrolls rise by 183,000; Est. 148,000; Prev. 176,000 pic.twitter.com/upMkqumiob
— Business Expert (@BusinessExpertX) February 5, 2025
Moana 2 helps Disney ride out hurricane disruption
The popularity of Moana 2 has helped Disney grow its revenues despite the disruption caused by a brutal hurricane season.
Disney has posted a 5% rise in its earnings in the last quarter – the three months to 28 December – with pretax profits up 27%.
Content sales and licensing returned to profit, with earnings up $536m to $312m “driven by the performance of Moana 2”.
But hurricanes Milton and Helene cost Disney $120m of profit.
The company says:
Domestic Parks & Experiences operating income declined 5%, reflecting a 9 percentage-point adverse impact to year-over-year growth due to the hurricanes and cruise pre-opening expenses
French carmaker Renault, which owns around a third of Nissan, says it will “vigorously” defend the interests of the group and its stakeholders.
A spokesperson for Renault added that recent press information indicates that no decision had yet been made on the possible end of merger talks between Honda and Nissan.
It was reported last week that Renault has urged Nissan to negotiate a higher premium from Honda in the merger.
Scrapping the Honda deal would leave Nissan stranded, fears Bloomberg Opinion columnist Gearoid Reidy.
Like the driver who stubbornly insists they know where they’re going but ends up lost, pride may have caught up with Nissan Motor Co.
Now, the Japanese automaker might be stranded in a place even AAA can’t reach it. News reports on Wednesday said Nissan has withdrawn from the agreement to combine with Honda Motor Co. in a $60 billion deal, just over a month after the two firms formally entered talks on what would have been a historic merger.
The sticking point appears to be Nissan’s demand that the merger be one of equals despite Honda having a market capitalization more than five times its size. Honda in turn had proposed first making Nissan into its unit, the reports said, ostensibly to quicken the pace of restructuring at the troubled firm — a proposal unlikely to have gone down well with executives at a company that traces its roots back to before World War I.
Reidy adds that Nissan needs the deal more than Honda, after years of cost-cutting by Carlos Ghosn left the automaker trailing in R&D in both electric vehicles and hybrids… More here.
At their current market capitalisations, a Honda-Nissan merger would have created a company worth around $60bn, or £48bn.
Honda is the more valuable of the two, with a value of ¥7.92trn according to LSEG data, or $51.8bn/£41.3bn.
Nissan is worth ¥1.44trn ($9.4bn/£7.5bn).
Perhaps that difference is why Honda reportedly sounded out Nissan about becoming a subsidiary – a proposal that seems to have gone down badly!
Honda and Nissan’s 'merger close to collapse'
The merger between Nissan and Honda to create the world’s third-largest carmaker is reportedly close to collapse.
Sources close to the deal have told Reuters that Nissan is set to call off merger talks with rival Honda, abandoning the £46bn tie-up.
Those sources say that talks have been complicated by growing differences between the two Japanese automakers.
The news has moved both companies’ share price – Nissan’s stock fell almost 5%, with trading briefly suspended after the Nikkei newspaper reported that it has called off merger talks with Honda.
Nissan is reportedly unhappy that Honda had suggested it could become a subsidiary, rather than the two companies joining together in a merger of equals.
Honda’s shares, which continued to trade, jumped over 8%.
According to Reuters, Nissan and Honda said in separate statements that the Nikkei report was not based on information announced by the companies and that they aimed to finalise a future direction by mid-February and announce it at that time.
The news that Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi were in talks over a possible merger broke just before Christmas last year. If completed, it would combine Japan’s second- and third-largest carmakers, and add the smaller Mitsubishi, in a defensive effort to join forces as the automotive industry goes through its biggest ever period of upheaval
Bloomberg: China Weighs Probe Into Apple’s App Store Fees, Practices
Apple could soon find itself pulled into the trade war bubbling away between the US and China.
Bloomberg are reporting that China’s antitrust watchdog is laying the groundwork for a potential probe into Apple’s policies and the fees it charges app developers.
They report:
The State Administration for Market Regulation is examining Apple’s policies, which include taking a cut of as much as 30% on in-app spending and barring external payment services and stores, people familiar with the matter said. Agency officials have spoken with Apple executives and app developers since last year, said the people, who asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive moves.
The conversations stem from long-running disputes between Apple and developers such as Tencent Holdings Ltd. and ByteDance Ltd. over iOS store policies — a source of tension between the US company and regulators worldwide. While Beijing has since 2024 targeted the practices of US tech firms from Nvidia Corp. to most recently Alphabet Inc.’s Google, regulators may not formally move against Apple if the current conversations go well.
More here: China Weighs Probe Into Apple’s App Store Fees, Practices
Both Apple and Google are also being investigated in the UK, where the CMA is looking into the tech firms’ mobile operating systems, app stores and browsers.
Shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd: too early to push the panic button on trade war
Container shipping liner Hapag-Lloyd believes it will be able to cope with the imposition of US tariffs on Chinese products, and Beijing’s retaliation.
Chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen told reporters on Tuesday.
“It is too early to push the panic button.”
Habben Jansen added that foreseeable events were easier to handle than the unexpected ones (such as the recent Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea), saying:
“Fortunately we are able to react when transport flows change.”
Updated
Pound at one-month high
The pound has risen to a one-month high this morning, as the US dollar weakens.
Sterling is up half a cent against the US dollar to $1.2538, the highest since 7 January.
It has nudged higher after this morning’s PMI report (see earlier post), showed that input price inflation hit an 18-month high in January.
The pound could be volatile tomorrow, though, when the Bank of England is expected to cut UK interest rates and could also lower its growth forecasts.
With gold at a record high, Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades, says:
The precious metal is finding support amid dollar weakness and growing apprehension over the escalating trade war between the US and China, as well as its likely negative impact on global economic growth prospects.
The US dollar’s decline this week, which began after the administration’s last-minute U-turn on imposing additional tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, continued Tuesday following the release of disappointing labor and industrial data indicating a slowdown in the world’s largest economy. A weaker dollar is supportive of gold prices. At the same time, US tariffs on China and Beijing’s retaliation are ominous for the global economy, increasing the appeal of safe-haven gold.
This demand is further reinforced by renewed uncertainty in the Middle East, following Donald Trump’s comments about taking over Gaza and displacing the Palestinian population.”
Donald Trump’s astonishing declaration overnight that the US will take long-term ownership of the Gaza Strip could also be pushing gold higher, as investors wonder what impact this will have on the Middle East.
That move, and the new trade war with China, are both worrying markets, says Achilleas Georgolopoulos, senior market analyst at IG:
From a market perspective, Trump has essentially brought two new reasons into the spotlight that could potentially result in severe risk-off episodes.
At this juncture, the main beneficiary of Trump’s comments has been gold. At the time of writing, it is trading at $2,865, a new all-time high, as market participants are extremely concerned about Trump’s intentions regarding Iran.
UK firms slash jobs in January
UK companies cut staffing levels for the fourth month running in January, the latest survey of purchasing managers at British firms has confirmed.
S&P Global reports that aside from the pandemic, the pace of job shedding was the steepest since the global financial crisis more than 15 years ago.
They blame the increase in payroll costs, following the increase to employer national insurance contributions and the national minimum wage in last autumn’s budget, saying:
Lower workforce numbers reflected subdued demand conditions and ongoing efforts to mitigate higher payroll costs. Overall input price inflation hit an 18-month high in January.
That matches the message from the ‘flash’ PMI report in mid-January, which we covered here.
S&P Global also report that that UK services sector continued to expand last month.
Its UK Services PMI Business Activity Index has come in at 50.8 in January, down from 51.1 in December, and the joint-lowest for 15 months (but still over the 50-point mark showing stagnation).
Eurozone business activity returns to growth
The eurozone’s private sector returned to growth, marginally, last month, a new survey shows.
S&P Global’s monthly poll of purchasing managers across the euro area has found that the region’s economy was able to eke out growth in January, for the first time since August.
It’s HCOB Eurozone Composite PMI Output Index has risen to 50.2, up from December’s 49.6, which is a five-month high. Any reading over 50 indicates a rise in activity.
Spain was again the main growth engine, while Germany saw its best monthly performance since last May.
On the downside, Italy’s economy was again virtually stagnant, while private sector business activity in France contracted for the fifth month running.
Dr Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, says:
“The slow pace of growth in the services sector, which was evident almost all of last year, continued at the start of 2025. Putting it more positively, growth at service companies played a crucial role in keeping the eurozone economy in expansion over the past year.
Sluggish, but slightly accelerating growth in new orders and employment gives hope that this sector will gain a bit more momentum in the first quarter of this year.
Iceland cuts interest rates, to 8%
Over in Reykjavik, Iceland’s central bank has announced a sharp cut to interest rates.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Iceland has voted unanimously to lower its key interest rate by half a percentage point, from 8.5% to 8%.
They acted after inflation in Iceland eased to 4.6% in January.
But they also warned that global economic uncertainty has risen – presumably a nod to Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Iceland’s MPC says:
Demand growth has subsided in line with a tight monetary stance, and the positive output gap in the economy is narrowing. Housing market activity has eased, and house price inflation has lost pace. There are signs that economic activity is stronger than preliminary national accounts figures imply, however, and wage costs continue to rise.
Although inflation has eased and inflation expectations have fallen, inflation pressures remain, which calls for a continued tight monetary stance and caution regarding decisions going forward. This is compounded by elevated global economic uncertainty.
GSK has lifted its long-term sales targets as it hailed a strong drug pipeline, sending its shares to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard this morning.
Britain’s second-biggest drugmaker raised its sales target to more than £40bn by 2031, and the shares have jumped by 5.8%, and are on track for their biggest one-day gain since 2022.
GSK said its sales rose by 7% to £31.4bn at constant exchange rates last year, as revenues from specialty medicines, HIV and oncology medications grew while vaccine sales fell.
The company is now forecasting that sales will rises to more than £40bn by 2031.
However, its profits dropped by 34% to £3.5bn last year after it took a £1.8bn charge to settle thousands of cases in US courts over its heartburn Zantac drug, amid claims that the drug caused cancer. It said the vast majority of state court cases had been resolved or dismissed leaving less less than 1% of cases.
Emma Wamsley, the GSK chief executive, said:
We are increasing and prioritising R&D investment to promising new long-acting and specialty medicines in respiratory, immunology & inflammation, oncology and HIV.
Gold is continuing to climb, and has now hit $2,866.54 per ounce.
Kelvin Wong, OANDA’s senior market analyst for Asia Pacific, says:
“Gold continues to see safe-haven demand given the current situation on the trade tension front.”
Wegovy and Ozempic producer Novo beats sales forecasts
Novo Nordisk has reported better-than-expected revenues, with sales of its Wegovy obesity drug surging by 86% last year, but expects growth to slow this year.
The Danish company has struggled to keep up with demand for its obesity and diabetes treatments Wegovy and Ozempic, which have to be injected by users once a week. The demand has turned Novo into Europe’s biggest company, but it briefly lost the title to French luxury goods giant LVMH last month after it released disappointing trial results for a next-generation obesity drug, CagriSema.
The drug did not achieve its target of 25% weight loss in a late-stage trial, sending the company’s share price sharply lower. Novo said today it plans to submit it for regulatory approval early next year, slightly later than its previous expectation of late 2025. The chief executive, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, said CagriSema is more potent than Wegovy, and that a new trial will look at different doses and duration. The recent trial data showed some people reached adequate weight loss on lower doses.
Another new obesity drug called amycretin had positive results in an early stage trial.
Sales of Wegovy jumped by 86% last year, contributing to a 26% increase in overall sales to DKr290bn (£32bn) last year, higher than analysts’ forecasts, and a pre-tax profit of DKR127bn (£14bn), up 22%. It expects sales growth to slow to between 16% and 24% this year.
Novo shares have fallen more than 40% since hitting a record high last June. US rival Eli Lilly, which makes the obesity drug Zepbound and Mounjaro for diabetes, reported weaker-than-expected sales last month.
Novo bought Catalent, a drug manufacturer for $16.5bn last year to ramp up production of its weight loss drugs.
Jørgensen said:
“We are pleased with the performance in 2024, where 26% sales growth reflects that more than 45 million people are now benefiting from our treatments.
Further, we completed the acquisition of the three Catalent sites, and during the year, we progressed our R&D pipeline, including obesity projects such as CagriSema and amycretin.”
Gold, "the ultimate Trump hedge" hits record high
Gold has hit a new record high this morning, as nervous investors seek out a safe haven asset.
The spot price of gold has gained 0.6% today, to a new alltime high of $2,861.78 per ounce.
Gold has now gained 9% so far this year, adding to the 26% gain posted in 2024.
Analysts say that gold is benefitting from concerns about the prospect of disruption under Donald Trump, and fears over the disruption tariffs could cause.
Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank, told clients:
Investors have grown hopeful that the tariff delays for Mexico and Canada will mean that tariffs are ultimately avoided, whether that’s via further delays or some kind of deal.
If that does transpire, then that would avoid a major trade shock that hits growth and raises US inflation, hence the more positive market reaction over the last 24 hours. Nevertheless, there’s little doubt that markets remain pretty nervous about the whole situation, with tariff risk still being priced in to several key assets, and gold prices hit an all-time high.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, says gold could be “the ultimate Trump hedge”, explaining:
Investors may look more relaxed now than they did at the start of the week, but havens continue to see increased demand on the back of growing global uncertainties under Trump’s hectic lead and with the prospects that the first weeks under Trump is just a foretaste of what’s to come in the next four years.
And there is not a better hedge than gold for protecting a portfolio from Trump worries: the more chaotic international relations become, the greater the demand—especially from central banks looking to reduce US exposure should Trump turn his focus on them.
As a result, gold hit a record high for the fourth straight session, reaching $2,860 per ounce in Asia for the first time ever. At this pace, Trump makes $3,000 look like an easy target…
Updated
China's CSI 300 sees 'measured' losses
Chinese stocks have slipped on the first day of trading after the lunar New Year holidays.
The CSI 300 index of big Chinese companies traded in Shanghai or Shenzhen has slipped by almost 0.6% today.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, says:
The Chinese markets opened for the first time after a long Lunar New Year holiday, and they opened down on a set of weaker-than-expected PMI figures, on the news of 10% tariff on its exports toward Trump’s USA, and a further escalation of the trade war with the tit-for-tat measures announced yesterday from Beijing, including 15% tariffs on US coal and LNG imports and an antitrust probe into Google.
But losses in the CSI 300 index remained measured, as the 10% tariffs from the US were considered as being quite modest – compared to the chatter of up to 60% tariffs, and China’s response to the US was also seen moderated.
Markets calmer over trade war fears
After the mayhem of ‘Manic Monday’, a level of calm has returned to the financial markets today (despite the weakening yuan).
The pound has hit a one -week high of $1.249 last night, recovering all its losses earlier this week as fears of a global trade war hit investor confidence.
Wall Street recovered its poise too yesterday, with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining 0.3%.
Traders are relieved that Donald Trump suspended US tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days on Monday night – although also aware that only kicks the can down the road for a month.
Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone, says:
In fact, this whole saga could well rumble on until the start of April, when the review ordered by President Trump into US trade policy is due to report back.
Perhaps, it is at that point, that we will see tariffs shift from being used as a bargaining chip to further certain political aims, to actually being used as a measure to address trade imbalances. Still, whatever the purpose, the whole thing remains a zero-sum game.
Yuan slips on trade-war anxiety
China’s currency has weakened as financial traders return to work after the Lunar new year.
The eruption of the new US-China trade war this week, which saw tariffs added to exports between the two countries yesterday, has ended the holiday spirits.
This pushed the yuan towards the 16-month low set last month.
But the fall in the yuan has been cushioned by China’s central bank, as Reuters explains:
The dollar rose more than 0.5% against the yuan to a high of 7.2863 in onshore trade, though its gains were capped by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) setting a stronger-than-expected yuan midpoint rate, around which the currency is allowed to trade in a 2% band.
The fixing had been closely watched by investors for clues on whether Beijing would allow the currency to weaken to blunt the impact of sweeping new tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Economists have suggested that China could respond to US tariffs by allowing its currency to weaken, which would boost exports and fight deflation.
Updated
UK new car sales fall in January, industry data shows
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
New car registrations in the UK dropped in January, preliminary industry data showed on Wednesday, due to slower demand from both fleet and private buyers.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported that overall registrations fell to approximately 137,000 units in January, with over a fifth of those being electric vehicles, aligning with the industry’s continued commitment to the shift towards EVs.
That means a small year-on-year drop in car sales – in January 2024, 142,876 new cars were registered.
The SMMT is due to release their full report at 9am.
Ian Plummer, commercial director at Auto Trader, reports an increase in interest in electric cars – which could help the UK hit its target of banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035.
“January marked a lacklustre start to 2025 for the new car market, as registrations fell for the fourth month in a row. This year will offer its fair share of challenges for established brands, amid economic uncertainty, tariff threats from the US and fierce competition from a growing array of new Chinese entrants.
“A look under the bonnet however does offer some optimism for the industry, with visits to our new car platform up over 20% following the festive lull.
“And we can also see the big increase in electric car enquiries made on our platform late last year already playing through into the market, which will come as some relief to manufacturers facing another steep increase in ZEV mandate targets in 2025. There’ll be no let-up in pressure to maintain electric vehicle demand and hit the 28% target, likely resulting in offers to entice buyers over the coming months.”
The agenda
9am GMT: eurozone services and composite PMI for January
9am GMT: SMMT data on UK car sales in January
9.30am GMT: UK services and composite PMI for January
3pm GMT: US services and composite PMI for January
