The fleet sector once again drove growth in new car registrations during August, with 81,640 units registered overall during the course of the month.
 
According to the monthly SMMT statistics, this represented a 3.3% rise overall when compared with August 2015, with the fleet sector growing by 7.7%, offsetting a slight dip (-0.2%) in private registrations.
 
Demand for diesel-powered cars over the course of last month fell by slightly (-0.2%), with petrol registrations jumping ahead by 5.3% and alternatively-fuelled vehicles seeing a growth of 30.8%.

Year-to-date performance for the overall market is ahead by 2.8% compared with the first eight months of 2015, with 1.68m cars registered so far this year. The SMMT said that 54,000 electric and plug-in cars have been registered so far this year, compared with 44,000 in 2015.
 
"August is traditionally one of the quietest months as consumers look ahead to the September plate change, so growth, albeit small, is good news. With showrooms full of exciting models featuring the very latest technology and a raft of affordable finance options, it still makes economic sense to consider buying a new car," said Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive. "The key to maintaining this strong market is consumer confidence for which we look to government to deliver the conditions for economic growth."

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