New car registrations rose by 10.98% year-on-year in May to 180,111 units, with private sales up by 20.85% to 84,202 registrations, higher than the pre-recession figure recorded in 2007.

Although all registrations recorded by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), including fleet and business, were still behind May 2007, the total was still the highest recorded for six years and marks the 15th consecutive month of growth.

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Year-to-May, private registrations have grown 16.20% to 460,571 units while total registrations are up by 9.27% to 948,666.

Year-to-May total registrations are 9.17% below the 2007 level with private registrations 2.06% below.

As much as the figures perpetuate the resurgence of private registrations in 2013, month-on-month growth of private registrations in May, up 3.00%, is behind the growth of total registrations, up 10.26% on April.

The mini segment has been the strongest grower so far in 2013, according to the SMMT.

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The Ford Fiesta was the best-selling model, the Focus second and the Vauxhall Corsa third, for both the month and the year-to-May. So far this year the Fiesta has sold 51,708 units (or roughly one in every twenty new registrations).

Further data and analysis of the SMMT figures will be published in the June issue of Motor Finance magazine.

richard.brown@timetric.com