February new car registrations in the UK rose 3% year on year to 68,736 units.
Year to date sales rose 6.1% to 223,298.
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The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the UK new car market had now achieved 24 consecutive months of growth, increasing 17.4% over the period while rising GDP and growing car registrations signalled increasing consumer confidence.
“Automotive retailers look forward to March results as expectations rise for strong 14-plate performance,” the SMMT said.
“The 3% rise in February new car registrations marks two full years of continuous month-on-month growth; a real endorsement of consumer confidence and the attractiveness of the new car market,” said CEO Mike Hawes.
“While February is typically a quieter month ahead of the March registration plate change, we expect the arrival of the new 14-plate and increasing economic confidence to maintain a steady rate of growth.”
Phil Harrold, automotive partner at PwC, said: “The continued rise of new UK registrations in February reflects the increasing confidence in the economy amongst consumers coupled with manufacturer incentives which continue at high levels. The real test will come as the European car industry gets its capacity in line with current demand and the need for incentives recedes. However, offsetting this will be the spate of new vehicle launches this year following the Geneva motor show, which is running this week.”
