The UK’s new car market grew by 5.3% in March, making it the biggest ever month since the bi-annual plate change began in 1999, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
It says 518,707 new cars were registered in March, only the third time the market has surpassed half a million units in a single month.
The month rounded off a record quarter, in which more than 770,000 new cars were registered – a 5.1% increase over the first quarter in 2015.
Demand for alternative fuel vehicles showed a notable increase of 21.5% in the month, as consumers continued to favour lower emission vehicles with lower running costs. Registrations of both diesel and petrol cars increased, meanwhile, with respective uplifts of 4.8% and 4.7%.
Growth was seen across all sales types in March: private and business registrations increased 3.8% and 15.3% respectively, while in the fleet sector demand grew 6.0%, reversing small declines seen in January and February as buyers sought to maximise residual values by opting for the new March number plate.
Ford remained market leader but in a month which saw a 5% growth in registrations it went backwards by a similar amount compared to a year earlier while its closest rivals gained ground on them.
March top ten were: Fiesta, Corsa, Focus, Golf, Qashqai, Polo, Astra, Mini, Fiat 500 and Audi A3.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “The sector’s strong growth in March rounds off a robust first quarter as British consumers continue to demonstrate their appetite for new cars, especially ultra-low emission vehicles.
“This confidence should see registrations remain at a high but broadly stable level over the year, but could be undermined by political or economic uncertainty.”
In Wales, the bet sellers were: Fiesta, Corsa, Focus, Mokka, Kuga, Polo, Yaris, Qashqai, Golf and Sportage with 19,885 new cars registered in March across all manufacturers, a 3.42% rise on the same time last year.
