New car registrations reached a 10-year high for an individual month in March, with the market up 17.7% to 464,824 units, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Fleet registrations were up 13.5% year-on-year in March and 8.7% up year-on-year, compared with the overall market’s 13.7% rise in the first quarter compared with the first three months of 2013.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes described the market as showing “surprisingly strong levels of growth”, and cautioned that the organisation expects the market to perform positively for the rest of the year, “albeit at a more modest rate”.
Alternative-fuelled vehicles continue to grow in volume, with a 50.5% year-on-year increase in the first quarter of 2014 to 12,784 registrations, improving the market share by half a percentage point to 1.9%.
