New-car market keeps growing

The UK’s new-car market grew by 14.3 per cent last month, when compared with October 2022, to record 153,529 registrations.

The total was 7.2 per cent above pre-pandemic levels and the best performance for October since 2018 when there were 153,599 units, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

It was also the 15th month of consecutive growth for the sector, with the latest increase mostly driven by the 28.8 per cent surge in fleet registrations to 87,479 units. 

Private demand was stable at 62,915 vehicles, a 0.3 per cent year-on-year increase, while the registrations in the business sector fall 15.2 per cent to 3,135 units. 

With the sustained increase in new car registrations, overall vehicle uptake has grown 19.6 per cent in the first 10 months of 2023, with the market enjoying its best year since 2019.

Ford’s Puma, pictured, was the UK’s best-seller last month and year-to-date with 4,824 and 41,136 registrations for those respective periods.

Electrified models accounted for 37.6 per cent of all new car registrations in October, while battery electric vehicle (BEV) volumes have accounted for 16.3 per cent of the year-to-date market, up from 14.6 per cent at the same stage of 2022.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, says: “With demand for new cars surpassing pre-pandemic levels in the month, the market is defying expectations and driving growth.” 

The latest market outlook for the UK has been revised upwards as a result of higher growth than expected.

Overall new car registrations are tipped to reach 1.9 million by the end of the year, a rise of 2.1 per cent from July’s predictions. 

The estimated total for 2024 has also been lifted by one per cent to nearly 2m units.