Halfords Plc, the bicycle and car parts group, said the cost-of-living crisis is threatening Britain’s road safety as cash-strapped motorists keep cars running for longer.
(Bloomberg) —
Halfords Plc, the bicycle and car parts group, said the cost-of-living crisis is threatening Britain’s road safety as cash-strapped motorists keep cars running for longer.
The UK company said the average age of a vehicle on British roads is now 8.7 years, more than a year older than it was a decade ago. In addition, while the average age of a car at scrappage is 13 years, the most recent industry data shows there are 8.4 million cars over 13 years old still running. That’s almost a quarter of all cars in the country.
“Based on what we’re seeing in our garages and taking into account continuing issues with the supply of new cars, we believe the average ages of cars will pass the nine year mark very soon and could even creep above 10 years before the cost-of-living crisis eases,” Graham Stapleton, chief executive officer of Halfords said in a statement Wednesday.
Stapleton made the comments as Halfords stock jumped more than 8% in early trading after it reported sharp revenue growth across all divisions. Its autocentres arm is driving the performance, with like-for-like growth up more than 28% over three years, following a number of strategic acquisitions. The company said it’s on track to generate underlying pretax profit of £65 million ($65.7 million) to £75 million in the fiscal year.
Read More: Average Age of US Cars Tops 12 Years Amid Supply, Price Woes
Halfords offers a range of car services from MOTs to tire changes. The company said it is introducing price cuts to help hard-pressed motorists and is offering free MOTs to its workforce of more than 10,000 employees.
Older cars are more likely to develop faults, are more costly to maintain and are more polluting, Stapleton said. However, vehicle reliability has improved in recent years which means cars can run for longer than before.
(A previous version corrected revenue growth comparison period)
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