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Busiest February for new car sales in 12 years; registrations up 8.4%

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Author: | Updated: 04 Mar 2016 09:06

Last month was the busiest February for the new car market since 2004 with 83,395 new cars registered in the UK throughout February, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT).

New car registrations increased by a very healthy 8.4% in February, notoriously one of the quietest months for Britain’s new car market ahead of March’s reg-plate change, with retail customers spearheading that growth with private registrations up a huge 22.6% (37,666 units).

Fleet sales slipped once again, falling 1.4% on last February, with 44,254 new cars going to company fleets.

Despite this dip, fleet held more than half of the new car market (53.1% to private’s 45.2%) with 44,893 units, a mere 639 fewer than last February.

Interest in car leasing was strong in February yet again, with deal searches on ContractHireAndLeasing.com up by 60.06% on the same month last year. Personal searches increased by 80.09%, while business searches grew 40.03%.

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‘Positive performance’

Demand for hybrid and electric vehicles remains very strong with registrations of alternatively fuelled vehicles up 28.6% for 2016 so far (8,296 units).

However, it’s worth keeping an eye on how that demand is affected following cuts to the plug-in car grant, introduced on March 1.

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.”

Steve Jackson, Chief Car Editor at vehicle data provider Glass’s, suggested that the fleet market had now plateaued after recovering from recession.

“Post-recession fleet has returned to pre-recession volumes and now is largely a numbers game,” he said.

“Manufacturers are competing for a share of a finite, yet important market of fixed term contract company car drivers via BIK advantages and financial incentives.”

Ford’s Fiesta continues to race ahead of the rest of the competition, with 12,860 registered in 2016 so far, more than 5,500 more than Nissan’s second placed Qashqai (7,325).

Kia’s Sportage (pictured) was the surprise entry in February’s top ten, placing ninth, with 1,521 registered, 15 more than the Vauxhall Mokka in tenth, again another good performer in 2016.

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How Britain’s new car registrations performed in February and 2016 so far:

Total Private Fleet Business
Feb 2016 83,395 37,666 44,254 1,475
Feb 2015 76,958 30,718 44,893 1,347
% change 8.4% 22.6% -1.4% 9.5%
2016 year-to-date 253,073 110,724 134,158 8,191
2015 year-to-date 241,814 98,238 135,834 7,742
% change 4.7% 12.7% -1.2% 5.8%

Top ten best selling cars in February and 2016 so far:

 

February 2016

Units

2016 Year-to-date

Units

1

Ford Fiesta

4,507

Ford Fiesta

12,860

2

Volkswagen Golf

2,574

Nissan Qashqai

7,325

3

Nissan Qashqai

2,486

Vauxhall Corsa

7,211

4

Vauxhall Corsa

2,408

Ford Focus

6,654

5

Ford Focus

2,369

Volkswagen Golf

6,387

6

Vauxhall Astra

1,626

Volkswagen Polo

4,883

7

Audi A3

1,619

Audi A3

4,846

8

Volkswagen Polo

1,585

Vauxhall Astra

4,811

9

Kia Sportage

1,521

Nissan Juke

4,485

10

Vauxhall Mokka

1,506

Vauxhall Mokka

4,410

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