UK SALES FEBRUARY - The market sees more growth with the UK Top 10 adding new cars, Vauxhall on a roll.

SMMT NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS

4 March 2016 (data for February 2016)

• New car market grows 8.4% in February, with 83,395 units registered.
• Demand from private customers drives increases, up 22.6%, with fleet demand down 1.4%.
• Registrations of alternatively-fuelled vehicles up by a fifth in the month.

New car registrations continued the positive start to 2016 in February, growing 8.4% compared with the same month in 2015, according to new figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). 83,395 new cars were registered in the month, marking the biggest February since 2004.

Demand was up across all fuel types, with diesel and petrol registrations growing by 5.6% and 10.7% respectively, while alternatively-fuelled vehicles enjoyed an uplift of 19.9%. Fleet demand dipped slightly compared with the private sector, but still retained its 53.1% majority share of new vehicles.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “February is typically one of the quietest months of the year, ahead of March’s plate change, but this positive performance is encouraging and puts the sector in a good position for the coming 12 months."