The rapid expansion of the new car market continued in February after sales increased 12% year-on-year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
In total 76,958 new cars were sold.
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This marked the 36th consecutive month of new cars sales growing in the UK. Over a third of these months have involved double digit percentage growth. By way of comparison, 61,828 new cars were sold in February 2012.
The growth was driven by demand for fleet, with the sector growing 19.9% year-on-year to 44,719 in February. After falling for the first time in four years in January, private sales grew in February by 3.4%, year-on-year, to 30,899.
Alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) grew by over 50% to 1,852, meaning they represented 2.4% of the market in the month. Over half (50.1%) of all cars sold in February were diesel, up from 48.1% in the same month 2014.
BMW and Volkswagen saw some the biggest increases of the volume brands, growing sales by 67.63% to 5,091 and 38.69% to 7,710, respectively. As a result Volkswagen’s market share for the month edged above 10%.
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By GlobalDataMike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: "Three years of continuous growth in the new car market is remarkable and reflects the strong upturn in the confidence of UK car buyers since the recession.
"Registrations of fleet and business cars have outpaced the private market in February, reflecting the increased business confidence across the UK. With most fleet car buyers on a three-year replacement cycle, many of those cars purchased at the beginning of the current growth period are now due for replacement. Over the course of 2015, however, we are expecting a more stable market to emerge given there has already been an extended period of consistent growth."
Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers Association, said "We anticipate the market to continue to grow, and have strong expectations ahead of next month’s 15-plate change where customers will be likely to take advantage of a range of substantial discounts and savings, in addition to a variety of low rate finance packages being made available".
