9:17 am, June 5, 2023
New car registrations were up again in May, setting a new record.
Registrations jumped by 16.7 per cent year-on-year last month, representing 10 months of consecutive growth.
That period of registration increases marked the longest uninterrupted period of expansion for eight years, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
However, May’s figure is still 21 per cent lower than pre-pandemic 2019.
A total of 145,204 units received 23-reg plates in May, led by petrol-powered cars which now account for 57.1 per cent of the market.
Battery electric vehicles maintained their second place in the market with 16.9 per cent share. Plug-in hybrids currently hold a 6.2 per cent share and hybrids a 12.3 per cent slice of the market.
The Ford Puma was May’s best-seller with 4,184 registrations, and the compact crossover has now taken over the number one position year-to-date with 17,312 sales.
It means the Blue Oval is now back on top of the sales charts, pushing arch-rival Vauxhall and its Corsa into second place with 17,062 registrations.
The Nissan Qashqai was second in May’s chart with 3,140 registrations and the Vauxhall Mokka was third with 3,066.
The SMMT said the new car market is ‘maintaining momentum’, but again called for wider support to help motorists make the switch to electric.
Chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘After the difficult, Covid-constrained supply issues of the last few years, it’s good to see the new car market maintain its upward trend and the fact that growth is, increasingly, green growth is hugely encouraging.
‘Transforming the market nationwide, however, and at an even greater pace means we must increase demand and help any reticent driver overcome any concerns about electric vehicles.
‘This will require every stakeholder – industry, government, chargepoint operators and energy companies – to play their part, accelerating investment to drive decarbonisation.’
