March car sales grow by 26 per cent

The new car market grew by more than a quarter in March compared with the same month of 2009.

New car registrations in the month came to 397,383, representing a 26.6 per cent rise. March was the final month in which buyers could purchase cars through the Government scrappage scheme and was also the month which the new registration plate of the year was introduced- a typically busy time for the market.

In total the scrappage scheme accounted for 12.2 per cent of registrations in March, while sales were further boosted by an increase in demand from fleet and business buyers.

The increase in car sales is good news for British manufacturing too, as the registrations of British built rose by 52.1 per cent in the month, buoyed by the success of models such as Astra and Mini.

Although March posts growth, industry figures are worried of the effect of the withdrawal of the scrappage scheme. However the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) remains optimistic.

Commenting Paul Everitt SMMT cheif executive said: “The UK motor industry has enjoyed a better than anticipated first quarter of 2010. A strong March performance was underpinned by the scrappage incentive and improving demand in the fleet sector. The coming months will remain challenging and headline registration numbers are expected to dip, but underlying demand will continues to improve slowly.”

The Ford Fiesta became the top selling car of the month and remains the top selling car of the year so far.

March is typically the busiest month of the year, averaging 418,404 registrations and accounting for 17.8 per cent of the annual market since 1999 (when the twice yearly plate change started).

Author: Faye Sunderland, April 8th, 2010
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