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New car sales to fleets lagged well behind the rest of the UK market in January, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Its data shows that the overall new car market last month was up by 27.5% year-on-year - an unsurprising increase since January 2021 was affected by Covid-19 lockdown measures.
However, this increase was driven by a 64.1% rise in private car sales, standing in stark contrast to fleet registrations, which were actually down by 0.4%.
Business sales, classed as to fleets with fewer than 25 vehicles, were up by 52.7%, but these only made up 1.7% of the overall market, compared with 44.2% for fleets and 54.1% for private buyers.
Despite the increase seen from the overall market, it remains well short of pre-pandemic levels, with registrations down by 22.9% compared with January 2020. The SMMT said the impact of the global semiconductor crisis on vehicle supply continued to be the main reason for the shortfall.
In terms of fuel mix, it was another strong month for pure electric vehicles, with registrations up by 130.6% year-on-year for a 12.5% market share.
Plug-in hybrids were up by 47.3%, for a 7.9% market share, and conventional hybrids were up by 98.1% for an 11.7% share.
Mild hybrid petrol engines were up by 68.8%, taking 13% of the market, but mild hybrid diesels were down by 7.9% for a 5% share.
That decline pales however compared with the one still seen in pure diesel car sales, down by 45.8% for an overall market share of just 5.2%, while pure petrol car sales were up by 14.6% to take 44.7% of the market.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "Given the lockdown-impacted January 2021, this month's figures were always going to be an improvement but it is still reassuring to see a strengthening market.
"Once again it is electrified vehicles that are driving the growth, despite the ongoing headwinds of chip shortages, rising inflation and the cost-of-living squeeze.
"2022 is off to a reasonable start, however, and with around 50 new electrified models due for release this year, customers will have an ever-greater choice, which can only be good for our shared environmental ambitions."
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