UK car sales have grown again in May, which means longest period of growth since 1959. A total of 194,032 new cars were registered last month, a rise of 7 % and the highest total for the same period since 2004. New car registrations have also passed one million, with 1,058,974 new cars sold so far this year.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is predicting total registrations this year of 2.4 million. SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “The new car market has now grown in every month since March 2012 – the longest period of growth on record and a reflection of the UK’s ever-improving economic conditions.
“Over the past 27 months, increasingly confident consumers have been drawn to some fantastic new products, attracted by innovative technologies, improved fuel economy and competitive deals helping make a new car more affordable.”
A combination of growing consumer confidence amid economic recovery, cheap finance deals, and payouts over PPI mis-selling have driven the new car market to 27 consecutive months of growth, breaking a previous record set in the late 1980s.
The bestseller in May was the Ford Fiesta, followed by the Volkswagen Golf and Vauxhall Corsa. Mike Hawes warned the rate of growth was likely to slow in the coming months as demand stabilises. The SMMT is forecasting a 6% rise in new car registrations in 2014 overall.
Ford has again lead the monthly sales charts with over 23,000 new cars registered, and is well ahead for the year so far, taking over 13 per cent of the car market. Close behind was Vauxhall with a ten per cent market share, ahead of Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes.
These were the best-selling models in May 2014:
1. Ford Fiesta 9450 units
2. Volkswagen Golf 7134
3. Vauxhall Corsa 6536
4. Ford Focus 5824
5. Vauxhall Astra 5035
6. Nissan Qashqai 4144
7. Audi A3 3886
8. Volkswagen Polo 3607
9. Fiat 500 2896
10. Vauxhall Mokka 2801
