Cars Registrations SMMT News

New car sales rise for fifth month in a row

06 March 2001 #Cars #Registrations #SMMT News

New car sales rise for fifth month in a row

  • New car registrations rose 7.3 per cent in February to 79,151 units
  • Year to date figures show the market up 3.2 per cent at 267,059 units
  • Sales to private buyers soar 15.4 per cent in February


‘After four consecutive months of growth and with a change to the Y plate

on 1 March, we might have expected a dip in new car sales in February. But last

month’s rise, once again driven by private buyers, shows that the market is

in an extremely healthy state’, said SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan.

‘Sophisticated consumers in this country have not been fazed by conflicting

car price reports’, he added. ‘They know where to go to get the best possible

deal and these figures show that they are voting for the UK with their feet

and wallets’.

Notes to editors

  1. New car sales in the final quarter of 2000 were the strongest on record.
  2. Private sales took 39.7 per cent of the market last month compared to 36.9

    per cent in February 2000. In the first two months of the year private sales

    rose 24.7 per cent.
  3. The last change of the current number plate system to the Y plate took place

    on 1 March.
  4. Fleet sales rose by 4.4 per cent in February to 42,584 units.

February 2001

The attached tables show the registration figures for Great Britain, Northern

Ireland, The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands in detail. Top performers by

range and UK penetration figures are also listed. Providing the SMMT is acknowledged

as the source of this information, the figures may be quoted. Substantial reproduction

needs specific approval by the SMMT.

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