New car market momentum continues in key plate-change March
- UK new car registrations rose 5.9% in March with 394,806 registrations of 13-plate cars.
- Registrations in Q1 rose by 7.4% to 605,198 units.
- March marked the 13th consecutive month of growth in new car registrations, with volumes the highest since 2010 when the Scrappage Incentive Scheme supported the market.
- The uplift in the market follows strong demand in private registrations, which were up 11.2% in Q1.
- Registrations of all sales types rose in March, and across most segments – notably the Mini and MPV segments.
- The better than expected Q1 outturn should support net growth in the market in 2013. SMMT will review its full year forecast later in March.
“UK new car registrations out-performed expectations in March, the first month of the new 13-plate. The market increased more than 5% on March 2012 to almost 395,000 units,” said SMMT Interim Chief Executive, Mike Baunton. “Despite ongoing economic concerns, consistent monthly growth in the market is an encouraging sign of returning consumer confidence as motorists are attracted to forecourts by new models and the latest technologies.”
| March |
Total |
Diesel |
Petrol |
AFV |
Private |
Fleet |
Business |
||||||||||||
| 2013 |
394,806 |
187,239 |
202,249 |
5,318 |
204,299 |
171,728 |
18,779 |
||||||||||||
| 2012 |
372,835 |
181,368 |
186,047 |
5,420 |
189,468 |
165,565 |
17,802 |
||||||||||||
| % change |
5.9% |
3.2% |
8.7% |
-1.9% |
7.8% |
3.7% |
5.5% |
||||||||||||
| Mkt share ’13 |
47.4% |
51.2% |
1.3% |
51.7% |
43.5% |
4.8% |
|||||||||||||
| Mkt share ’12 |
48.6% |
49.9% |
1.5% |
50.8% |
44.4% |
4.8% |
|||||||||||||
| Year-to-date |
Total |
Diesel |
Petrol |
AFV |
Private |
Fleet |
Business |
||||||||||||
| 2013 |
605,198 |
292,403 |
304,356 |
8,439 |
294,656 |
282,695 |
27,847 |
||||||||||||
| 2012 |
563,556 |
283,872 |
271,486 |
8,198 |
264,884 |
273,898 |
24,774 |
||||||||||||
| % change |
7.4% |
3.0% |
12.1% |
2.9% |
11.2% |
3.2% |
12.4% |
||||||||||||
| Mkt share ’13 |
48.3% |
50.3% |
1.4% |
48.7% |
46.7% |
4.6% |
|||||||||||||
| Mkt share ’12 |
50.4% |
48.2% |
1.5% |
47.0% |
48.6% |
4.4% |
|||||||||||||
| Best sellers | March | Year-to-date | |||||||||||||||||
|
1 |
Fiesta |
22,748 |
1 |
Fiesta |
34,309 |
||||||||||||||
|
2 |
Corsa |
16,169 |
2 |
Focus |
25,081 |
||||||||||||||
|
3 |
Focus |
15,434 |
3 |
Corsa |
24,561 |
||||||||||||||
|
4 |
Golf |
9,978 |
4 |
Astra |
17,202 |
||||||||||||||
|
5 |
Astra |
9,559 |
5 |
Golf |
15,726 |
||||||||||||||
|
6 |
Qashqai |
8,465 |
6 |
Qashqai |
14,601 |
||||||||||||||
|
7 |
Polo |
7,431 |
7 |
Polo |
11,753 |
||||||||||||||
|
8 |
1 Series |
7,001 |
8 |
208 |
11,108 |
||||||||||||||
|
9 |
208 |
6,726 |
9 |
C-Class |
10,301 |
||||||||||||||
|
10 |
C-Class |
6,628 |
10 |
Juke |
10,010 |
||||||||||||||
