The UK car market experienced its 30th consecutive month of growth in August 2014 as volume rose 9.4% year on year to 72,163 new cars.

Year-to-date registrations have now passed the 1.5m unit mark – up 10.1% – though the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) expects “some levelling off” in coming months.

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Private and fleet registrations both grew by similar amounts last month with the former making the greater gains year-to-date.

“August is one of the year’s quietest months for new car registrations, typically accounting for around 3% of the annual market. In comparison, September usually makes up around 18% of the year’s registrations,” the SMMT noted.

Chief executive Mike Hawes said: “New car registrations reached two and a half years of consecutive monthly growth in August, as confident private and fleet consumers continued to snap up enticing deals on a wealth of advanced new products.

“The UK’s performance in the context of Europe is particularly impressive with growth consistently ahead of the rest of the EU for the past two years. As the UK market starts to find its natural level, we expect to see the growth level off during coming months.”

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August Total Diesel Petrol AFV Private Fleet Business
               
2014 72,163 35,931 34,974 1,258 34,857 35,632 1,674
2013 65,937 32,903 32,108 926 31,608 32,382 1,947
% change 9.4% 9.2% 8.9% 35.9% 10.3% 10.0% -14.0%
Mkt share ’14   49.8% 48.5% 1.7% 48.3% 49.4% 2.3%
Mkt share ’13   49.9% 48.7% 1.4% 47.9% 49.1% 3.0%
               
Year-to-date Total Diesel Petrol AFV Private Fleet Business
               
2014 1,532,335 770,128 734,320 27,887 735,235 726,001 71,099
2013 1,391,788 685,938 687,065 18,785 660,572 671,688 59,528
% change 10.1% 12.3% 6.9% 48.5% 11.3% 8.1% 19.4%
Mkt share ’14   50.3% 47.9% 1.8% 48.0% 47.4% 4.6%
Mkt share ’13   49.3% 49.4% 1.3% 47.5% 48.3% 4.3%
               
  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Total cars 2,404,007 2,131,795 1,994,999 2,030,846 1,941,253 2,044,609 2,264,737
               
Best sellers August       Year-to-date
               
  1 Ford Fiesta 4,657   1 Ford Fiesta 83,664
  2 Ford Focus 2,740   2 Ford Focus 53,507
  3 Vauxhall Corsa 2,435   3 Vauxhall Corsa 50,187
  4 Volkswagen Golf 2,376   4 Volkswagen Golf 45,653
  5 Vauxhall Astra 2,043   5 Vauxhall Astra 38,621
  6 Audi A3 1,641   6 Nissan Qashqai 32,073
  7 Volkswagen Polo 1,299   7 Audi A3 28,279
  8 Fiat 500 1,203   8 Volkswagen Polo 26,460
  9 Vauxhall Insignia 1,201   9 Fiat 500 25,910
  10 Nissan Qashqai 1,154   10 BMW 3 Series 23,736