8:03 am, September 4, 2014
NEW car registration figures rose 9.4 per cent in August, the latest SMMT figures published today reveal.
A total of 72,163 cars were registered in the month. Year-to-date registrations have now passed 1.5 million units – up 10.1 per cent – with some levelling-off expected over the rest of the year.
Private and fleet registrations both displayed similar increases in the month, with the former making the greater gains in the year-to-date.
August is one of the year’s quietest months for new car registrations, typically accounting for around three per cent of the annual market. In comparison, September usually makes up a hefty 18 per cent of the year’s registrations.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: ‘New car registrations reached two-and-a-half years of consecutive monthly growth in August, as confident private and fleet consumers continued to snap up enticing deals on a wealth of advanced new products.
‘The UK’s performance in the context of Europe is particularly impressive, with growth consistently ahead of the rest of the EU for the past two years. As the UK market starts to find its natural level, we expect to see the growth level off during coming months, however.’
