New Car Registrations rise in February
Published Date: 9th Mar 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 were up by 20% in February.
2016 New car registrations continued to rise in February, increasing 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.”