The UK new car market declined by 6.3% in January as diesel share continued its sharp fall.

The SMMT said that 163,615 cars were sold in January and diesel car sales plummeted by almost 26%. Diesel share of the new car market in January was 35.9% compared with 45.2% in January of last year.

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The SMMT said demand fell across the board, with registrations by business, private and fleet buyers down -29.7%, -9.5% and -1.8% respectively. Meanwhile, continuing the trend of recent months, SUVs were the only vehicle segment to see growth, with demand up 6.6% to account for a fifth (20.2%) of all new car registrations. Demand in all other segments fell, with the biggest declines affecting the mini, MPV and executive segments.

 Elsewhere in the market, registrations of petrol and alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) rose, up 8.5% and 23.9% respectively.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, voiced concern over the rapid decline of diesel sales in the UK car market. “The ongoing and substantial decline in new diesel car registrations is concerning, particularly since the evidence indicates consumers and businesses are not switching into alternative technologies, but keeping their older cars running,” he said.

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“Given fleet renewal is the fastest way to improve air quality and reduce CO2, we need government policy to encourage take up of the latest advanced low emission diesels as, for many drivers, they remain the right choice economically and environmentally.”

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Top ten models, January 2018

1. Ford Fiesta (8,335 sales)

2. Volkswagen Golf (4,310)

3. Ford Focus (4,105)

4. Nissan Qashqai (3,851)

5. Vauxhall Mokka X (3,767)

6. Mercedes-Benz A-Class (3,358)

7. Kia Sportage (2,622)

8. Vauxhall Corsa (2,587)

9. Ford Kuga (2,580)

10. Mercedes-Benz C-Class (2,478)