UK new car registrations for 2015 passed 2.6m units for the first time, sealing four years of consecutive growth, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said on Thursday (7 January). There were increases in all bar one of the past 46 months and a bumper December – the biggest ever, up 8.4% – saw 180,077 new cars registered.

Overall, sales rose 6.3% in 2015 to 2,633,503 units – exceeding forecast and outperforming the last record year in 2003 when 2,579,050 new cars left the UK’s showrooms. This is only the fourth time that the market has surpassed 2.5m vehicles in a full year.

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Growth was enjoyed across all sectors with UK fleets boosting demand by 11.8% to reach an all time high of 1.3m units. Appetite in the private sector, meanwhile, was also robust, up 2.5%.

Gains were reported across all fuel types, with petrol and diesel registrations up 8.4% and 3% respectively with equal market shares. Alternatively fuelled vehicle (AFV) demand, meanwhile, grew 40.3%, securing the biggest ever market share of 2.8% for a year. Plug-in hybrid volumes more than doubled, while pure electric vehicles saw an uplift of around 50%.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “The new car market defied expectations in 2015, hitting an all time record driven by strong consumer and business confidence. Buyers took advantage of attractive finance deals and low inflation to secure some of the most innovative, high tech and fuel efficient vehicles ever produced. The past four years have seen a remarkable period of sustained growth, and the outlook remains positive with every reason to expect the market to hold broadly steady in 2016.”

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