New car sales up for 28th consecutive month

THE STEADY ADVANCE of new car sales shows no sign of slowing down.

There were 228,291 new registrations in June, a 6.2% rise on the total for June 2013, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

Last month was the 28th consecutive month of growth and means that sales for the year so far have reached more than 1.28 million - a 10.6% rise on the first six months of last year.

The SMMT said consumer demand for efficiency had driven alternatively-fuelled vehicle registrations up 51.3% to 23,337 units so far this year.

It added that total new car sales are likely to reach 2.4 million in 2014, up more than 6% on last year.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "Improving economic conditions have helped propel the UK new car market to a strong first half-year performance.

"Key to attracting consumers is the ever-improving efficiency of new cars, an important factor that is highlighted by the increase in alternatively-fuelled vehicle registrations.

"The overall market has risen faster than we were expecting but, after a bumper March, growth is showing signs of stabilising around our forecast level."

These were the best-selling models in June 2014:

1. Ford Fiesta

2. Vauxhall Corsa

3. Ford Focus

4. Volkswagen Golf

5. Vauxhall Astra

6. Nissan Qashqai

7. Vauxhall Insignia

8. Fiat 500

9. BMW 3 Series

10. Audi A3

By Peter Woodman, Press Association