UK new car registrations up again in July

New car registrations in the UK have risen for the fifth month running, with a total of 143,884 new cars registered in July 2012.

The UK is continuing to buck the European trend with new car registrations up by 9.3 per cent in July (2102) to 143,884 according to new figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

That figure is the largest sales volume of 2012 and is the fifth month in a row that new car registrations have risen, despite economic woes and the Eurozone crisis, and brings registrations in 2012 to 1,201,564 so far, leading the SMMT to increase their prediction for 2012 sales upwards to 1.97 million.

The Ford Fiesta led the sales table with the Vauxhall Corsa taking second spot, with the Mercedes C class being the biggest ‘Premium’ seller with 3,163 registered.

Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Exec, said:

SMMT’s full year forecast is for 1.97 million cars to be registered during 2012 suggesting a slight slowing of demand in the second half of the year.
International economic stability remains a concern for vehicle manufacturers and the UK market, but intense competition and new fuel efficient products are creating great opportunities for motorists.

Interestingly, as choice increases, alternatively-fuelled cars saw a 45.9 per cent rise in registration to 2,079 cars, but that still represents just 1.4 per cent of total new car registrations.