Growth of Motor Trade

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 46, 17 May 1927, Page 10

Growth of Motor Trade

Striking English Fignr \s

Though only covering returns up to the end of 1924, figures recently issued by the Board of Trade, England, in a preliminary census of production, are the very latest, and they record an amazing growth in the industry. The total value of goods made and work done in the motor and cycle trades in 1924 was £93,819,000, of which £40,059,000 represented the value of motor-cars and chassis, while repair work was done to the value of £14,887,000 and the value of parts of motor-cars was The following table compares the output of the various sections of the trade in the three years in which statistics were collected:

KIND OF GOODS

Motor-cars and chassis Motor-cycles and tri-cars Bicycles and tricycles Parts of motor-cars Parts of motor-cycles and cycles Airplanes and parts Other products Repair work Totals

The report points out that the number of touring and commercial motor vehicles produced in 1924 was nearly seven times as big as those manufactured in 1912. while those produced in 1912 were little short of double those of 1907. AVERAGE VALUE FALLS The average value of the' complete motor-car is shown to have fallen from £335 in 1907 and £3OB in 1912 to £259, while the average value of motor-cycles has risen from £37 to £44 and £49 in the same years. The average value of bicycles, which was £5 10s in 1907 and £4 11s in 1912, is returned for 1924 as £5 11s. LOW-POWER DEMAND Dealing with these figures the report says: “The increased demand for the relatively low-powered and less costly touring car and the light commercial van is no doubt the main fac-

tor in the decline which has occurred in average factory values of motorcars and chassis since 1912, but, taking the products of this industry a.s a whole, the reductions in values per vehicle that have taken place may probably be regarded as also due in part to improvements in manufacturing technique and to standardisation, resulting from production on a large scale.” The value of exports from these trades in 1924 was £12,007,000, in which the biggest item was £2,904,000 in respect of touring cars, and the next £2,060,000 for parts of cycles. The net imports amounted to £7,448,000, of which £2,304,000 was accounted for by the value of touring cars imported, and £2,987,000 was the value of parts of motor-cars.

1924 1912 1907 Selling Selling Selling value. value. value. £ £ £ 40,059,000 7.436,000 3,585,000 5,877,000 1,613,000 137,000 3,774,000 2,121,000 3,353,000 1 4,357.000 2,042,000 552,000 8,696,000 2,286,000 1,545,000 3,553,000 36,000 2,616,000 761,000 431,000 14.557.000 1,744,000 1,600,000 93,519,Q00 1.8,039,000 11,533,000

OVER 200,000 EMPLOYED The net output of the factories and workshops (the amount by which the total value of the output exceeded the cost of the materials used) during 1924 was £45,329,000, which gave a net output per person employed of £226, as compared with £lO9 in 1907. It is recorded that the net output per person in 1912 differed' hardly at all from that of 1907. The average number of persons employed in the trades in 1924 was 200,272, as compared with an estimated number of 92,000 persons in 1912. The horse-power of steam engines and internal combustion engines used by the trades has risen from 15,285 in 1907 to 52,056 in 1924, and the horsepurchased electricity is shown to have power of electric motors driven by risen from 17,434 in 1912 to 142,101 in 1924.