Brakes come off as UK car sales enjoy record month

UK new car sales a record performance in the key month of March as consumers zoomed in before the new vehicle excise duty rates came into force over the weekend.

New car registrations revved up 8.4% to 562,337 in March, making it the biggest month and first quarter of the year since records began, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The new VED rates system came into force on 1 April, meaning all new cars, except for those with zero emissions, are subject to an annual flat rate charge.

Registrations in March were more than double the number in the first two months of the year combined, meaning 820,016 new cars were driven off forecourts in the first quarter of 2017, up 6.2% on the same period in 2016.

There was a 31.0% surge in registrations of alternatively fuelled vehicles but despite proposals for a new tax on diesel to tackle pollution, nearly a quarter of a million buyers chose to buy them in March - the most ever in a single month.

Fleets and businesses were the big contributors to growth in March, with registrations up 12.6% and 11.9% respectively, though demand from private buyers also grew, with registrations climbing 4.4% to reverse the decline in demand seen during the previous month.