New car registrations increased 3.2% year-on-year in July to 178,420 units, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). This was the 41st consecutive month of new car sales growth.
The bulk of this growth came from fleet sales which were up 6.4%. Private new car registrations increased only slightly (1.0%) year-on-year, from 76,756 to 77,500. As a result, the market share of fleet car registrations increased from 51.3% in July 2014 to 52.4% in July this year.
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Year-to-date registrations were up 6.5%, to over 1.5m. After the all-time record high new car sales growth recorded in the first half of the year, the SMMT expects the rest of 2015 to be more stable.
From January to July 2015, AFV car sales recorded a year-on-year growth of 58.6%, while petrol and diesel car sales grew by 8.6% and 2.6% respectively.
Mike Hawes, chief executive at SMMT, said: "While more moderate than in recent months, July’s rise in new car registrations is good news, and indicative of what we expect for the remainder of 2015. With demand having reached a record high in the first half of the year, we anticipate more stable growth in the coming months."
Richard Jones, managing director at Black Horse, said: "The UK automotive industry continues its success story with this month’s results demonstrating continuing growth albeit at a more modest level than prior months. Clearly the finance deals offered by manufacturers and dealers continue to attract consumers keen to buy the latest model cars and with continued low interest rates this is likely to continue. However the market is expected to grow at a slower rate in the second half of the year, albeit the September data should show strong registration levels due to the plate change."
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By GlobalDataBrands
Ford, the UK’s largest manufacturer, increased its sales by 1.98% year-on-year in July, to 24,115. Despite a 9.9% year-on-year fall in car sales, Vauxhall remained the second most popular brand with sales of 16,899. Volkswagen and Audi followed with new car sales of 15,503 and 13,004 respectively.
