New car registrations rose for the 33rd consecutive month in November, growing 8% year-on-year to 172,327 cars, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
A total of 2,310,237 news cars had been sold by the end of November in 2014. This was more than the amount sold in any entire year as far back as 2007, when 2,404,007 cars were sold over 12 months. However 2014 will likely surpass that figure once December’s sales are taken into account.
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Growth came from all engine segments. With year-on-year growth of 105.6% in November, alternatively fuelled vehicles outgrew the general market, almost doubling its market share from 1.5% in November 2013 to 2.8% in 2014. This equalled 4,876 cars of this sort sold in the month.
This market share growth came at the expense of diesel cars, of which 88,376 were sold in November 2014. This was 5.3% above the number sold in 83,962 in the equivalent month 2013, meaning its market share dropped from 52.6% to 51.3%.
Sales of petrol cars grew 8.0% year-on-year to 79,075, meaning its market share for the month stayed consistent at 45.9%.
Private car sales grew 6.3% year-on-year in November to 77,460 vehicles. Overall, 44.9% of new cars sold were for private use.
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By GlobalDataFleet sales grew at a faster rate, up 7.7% year-on-year, to 86,090, meaning almost exactly half of all cars sold were fleet.
The fastest growing sector was businesses, however, which experienced a sales jump of 30.4% year-on-year, to 8,777, or 5.1% of the market.
Commenting on the figures, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: "Six months after the record was broken for consecutive monthly growth in new car registrations, the market continues to march on. Today’s figures are an indication of the continuing economic confidence that is driving the new car market, with business, fleet and private registrations all showing strong rises in the month. We expect a more stable market in 2015.
"Demand for ultra-low emission vehicles is growing strongly, and we welcome the Chancellor’s commitment to support the charge point network for electric vehicles, as well as ULEV R&D in the UK."
Chris Sutton, managing director of Black Horse, said: ""Car manufacturers and dealers alike will be pleased to see sales have continued to perform well with yet another month of good figures as the final quarter of 2014 draws to a close. Clearly cheap and affordable finance continues to play a positive role in the purchase of new cars, in particular the use of PCPs (Personal Contract Purchases) which is attractive to car buyers given the current low interest rate environment that UK consumers continue to benefit from.
"Strong business confidence is also likely to have a positive impact on car sales too as more businesses feel confident to increase purchases of company cars and expand their overall fleet capacity. Finally, there has been much speculation on when the good news will come to an end but we are confident of a good start to 2015 for both manufacturers and dealers."
