New UK car sales are showing few signs of braking
BRITISH motorists kept buying new cars in February, industry data out yesterday showed.
Registrations rose three per cent on a year ago to 68,736 cars. February is a traditionally quiet month for car purchases ahead of the new year’s number plates being released in March.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has forecast a one per cent rise in new car sales this year, as the market cools off following a 10.8 per cent increase in 2013.
Chief executive Mike Hawes said the last two years of continuous sales growth were “a real endorsement of consumer confidence and the attractiveness of the new car market”.
Private sales rose 2.1 per cent, while fleet sales were up 3.6 per cent. John Leech, head of UK automotive at KPMG, said fleet sales have taken up some of the slack as demand from individual motorists starts to moderate. “Now that the UK car market is back at its long-run average, it feels like we have finally returned back to normal,” he said.
Hybrids and other alternative fuel vehicles continue to build a bigger share of the car market.
Sales were up 45 per cent on a year ago to 1,212 in February, and these vehicles now make up 1.8 per cent of all car purchases, up from 1.2 per cent a year ago.
The Ford Fiesta kept its title as the best-selling vehicle in Britain, shifting 4,415 cars last month.