New car registrations increased by 7% in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period last year to reach 1,376,889, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
This number was the highest half-year total on record, with the previous peak being 1,376,565 in the same period in 2004.
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According to the SMMT, the increase in registrations was triggered by low interest rates, attractive finance deals as well as the increased number of new models featuring the latest technologies.
Richard Jones, managing director at Black Horse, cited other reasons behind the strong sales figures: "Factors for continued prosperity in the motor car industry include continued strong business confidence as they upgrade their fleet, rising level of household income coinciding with manufacturers and dealers offering competitively priced cars and finance offers."
James Broadhead, chief executive officer at Close Brothers Motor Finance, also suggested increased consumer confidence was a ‘key’ reason for growing car sales. He added: "Although the rate of growth slowed slightly in May, the market seems to have regained momentum and continues to expand steadily."
In the first half of the year, there were more fleet vehicles sold than private vehicles. Fleet vehicle registrations rose by 13.1% year-on-year to 685,184, while private sales grew by 2.1% over the same period to 637,051.
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By GlobalDataThis was a very different market to the one of the first half of 2014, when private vehicle registrations exceeded fleet ones by 18,064.
Petrol cars overtook diesel cars in sales, as there was an increase of 8.4% year-on-year in petrol car registrations to 673,354. Diesel car sales grew by 3.5% to 665,602.
The highest sales growth was witnessed in alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), with registrations expanding by 65.2% compared to the same period in 2014 to 37,933. As a result, AFV market share grew from 1.8% in the first half of 2014 to 2.8% in the same period 2015.
Unsurprisingly England made up the bulk of the UK wide sales, with over 1,173,212 units moved in the first of 2015. This was followed by 114,353 cars sold in Scotland, 47,319 in Wales and 33,606 in Northern Ireland.
English sales also grew fastest in the period, up 7.89% year-on-year. While Wales and Scotland also sold more cars in the first half of 2015 compared to 2014 (up 3.23% and 1.85% respectively), Northern Irish new car sales fell 0.59% over the same period.
The half year figures included those of June, which marked the 40th consecutive month of growth in the market, with a 12.9% year-on-year increase in the month to 257,817 units. Fleet registrations continued to drive the growth, increased by 18.9%, although registrations to private customers also rose by 6.6%.
Director of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) Sue Robinson said the registration figures may not be representative of the real number of cars sold to end users.
She said: "Although it is encouraging to see that the market is continuing to grow, feedback and information from the industry suggests that manufactures could be pushing the market through use of targets and incentives. There is speculation that registration figures may not reflect the real number of cars actually being sold to end users."
Industry professionals anticipated the rate of growth in new car sales to slow over the next six months.
Mike Hawes, chief executive at SMMT, said: "We anticipate a flatter second half of the year as the market finds its natural running rate."
Black Horses’ Jones said: "We are likely to see a slower rate of growth over the summer months until the September plate change when the industry should fare well."
Brands
The vast majority of brands saw sales increase in the first six months of the year, compared to the same period in 2014.
Ford, the UK’s best-selling car brand, saw its sales rise by 2.07% year-on-year to 177,150 units. Vauxhall experienced a very marginal sales growth of 0.58% over the same period, with 142,434 vehicles sold. Volkswagen’s car sales grew by 8.49% to 120,064.
Audi was the fourth best-selling brand with 86,009 units sold, while the high rates of sales growth of Nissan (17.61%) led to the Japanese manufacturer overtaking BMW with total registration of 83,423.
The five models which sold the most between January and June were: Ford Fiesta (71,990), Vauxhall Corsa (50,125), Ford Focus (45,078), Volkswagen Golf (38,261) and Nissan Qashqai (34,501).
