Monday, 6 February 2012

New car sales in the UK ran flat in January, according to figures from the SMMT.

Sales rose by 0.03 per cent to reach 128,853 units.

The market was lifted by private sales, up 2.7 per cent for the month.

Diesel and alternatively-fuelled cars increased volumes, up 6.3 per cent and 17.7 per cent respectively.

“The January new car market held firm with 128,853 registrations, marginally up on January 2011, a welcome sign of stability in uncertain economic times,” said SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt.

The SMMT said the new car market is expected to remain stable in 2012, dipping 1 per cent to 1.92 million units before recovering to 1.98 million units in 2013.

It said the economic outlook remained weak and continues to make the new car market challenging.

Buyers continue to target fuel efficient cars. The Ford Fiesta was the best selling model for the month and four of the top sellers were superminis.

This segment showed the largest rise in volumes during January.