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The UK's new car market grew by 8.4% last month, making it the biggest-ever month for the sector, according to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
In total, 562,337 new cars were registered in March, as business users raced to buy cars before the new, less favourable, Vehicle Excise Duty and benefit-in-kind rates came into force on 1 April.
Fleet registrations grew by 12.6% compared with March 2016 to 261,930 units, while private registrations increased by 4.4% to 273,751 cars.
Year-to-date, the fleet market is 8.7% ahead compared with the first four months of 2016, despite the uncertainty Brexit has bought to business confidence in the UK.
March also saw a 31.0% surge in registrations of alternatively fuelled cars, with AFVs making up 4.1% of March's car parc. The number of petrol-powered cars registered increased by 11.5%, while diesel registrations fell by 1.0%.
The Ford Fiesta once again topped the sales charts, with 25,428 units finding homes during the month. It was followed by the Ford Focus (17,118) and Vauxhall Corsa (16,045).
"These record figures are undoubtedly boosted by consumers and businesses reacting to new VED changes, pulling forward purchases into March, especially those ultra-low emission vehicles that will no longer benefit from a zero-rate fee," said Mike Hawes, the SMMT's chief executive.
"This bumper performance probably means we will see a slowdown in April, exacerbated by the fact there are fewer selling days this year. Looking ahead to the rest of the year, we still expect the market to cool only slightly given broader political uncertainties as there are still attractive deals on offer."
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