New car registrations surge in September
British car buyers were undeterred by the Volkswagen scandal last month, leading UK new car registrations to their best September on record.
According to data released on Tuesday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), new car sales jumped 8.6% year-on-year in September, with over 462,000 new cars registered last month.
Meanwhile, in the first nine months of 2015, new car sales registration rose 7.1% year-on-year to 2,096,886 units, marking the first time since 2004 that new car sales have passed the 2m mark in September.
"With plenty of attractive, affordable deals available on the new 65-plate, Britain's car buyers – whether private, fleet or business consumers – were busier than ever,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.
“The market reached pre-recession levels some time ago, and we anticipate some levelling off in the coming months."
September marked the 43rd month of year-on-year gains, but analysts warned it the rate of growth was unlikely to be sustained.
“Despite September’s strong gain, it is unrealistic to expect car sales to keep churning out strong year-on-year growth rates given that have now risen for a record 43 consecutive months and are now coming from a very high base,” said Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight.