New car registrations hit a record high in September but fewer private buyers bought 66-plate models despite tempting deals
- A total of 469,696 new vehicles were registered last month
- That's a 1.6% rise on September 2015 and the highest number on record for the ninth month of the year
- But private sales were down 1.7% - fleet registrations drove the growth, up 7.3% in the month
- It was a strong month for alternative fuelled cars but VW sales continued to slump a year on from the dieselgate scandal
It might look like car salesmen bagged plenty of commission last month with new vehicle registrations hitting a record high in September but figures reveal private sales were down almost two per cent.
Official industry data showed that 469,696 vehicles were registered in total - a 1.6 per cent rise on the same month last year and the highest number of motor sales on record for a September.
But while September is always a bumper month for car sales with the arrival of a new number plate, the growth wasn't driven by private buyers taking up deals of 66 plate cars - it was a 7.3 per cent rise in fleet registrations that boosted figures.
New car registrations hit a new record high for September but private sales have dropped
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' (SMMT) numbers showed that private sales declined by 1.7 per cent in September compared to the year previous, despite manufacturers offering a raft of deals on 66-plate models.
That equated to 3,931 fewer new vehicles being bought by motorists compared to those who opted for 65-plate models in 2015.
Instead, it was the fleet sector that helped push total car registrations for 2016 so far to 2.15 million - up 2.15 per cent on the same nine-month tally last year.
But despite the sales looking set to break last year's overall record, there were murmurs of concern regarding the industry's future in light of the Brexit vote.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes warned that 'political uncertainty' must be overcome for the motor industry to continue to grow.
He said: 'September is always one of the biggest months for Britain's new car market.
'The new 66 plate, combined with a diverse range of exciting new models featuring the latest technology, has certainly helped draw buyers into showrooms and many are taking full advantage of the attractive deals and low interest financing options on offer.
'However, business and consumers place September orders many months in advance, so the ability of the market to maintain this record level of demand will depend on the ability of Government to overcome political uncertainty and safeguard the conditions that underpin consumer appetite.'
September is always a bumper month for car sales due to the arrival of a new number plate - in this case the 66 plate. However, private sales were down 1.7% on the same month last year despite most manufacturers offering deals on a range of their models
Car registrations hit a record high for September, eclipsing the total sales in any other year on record
But others sector experts have issued additional warnings for the future based on the new stats.
Chris Bosworth, director of strategy at Close Brothers Motor Finance, said it was 'important to analyse the figures, rather than just looking at the headlines' in the SMMT's September statement.
'The increase in overall registrations has been helped by a slight rebound in diesel vehicles as well as the growth in demand of alternatively-fuelled vehicles and fleet markets which both showed significant year-on-year and monthly figures for September,' Mr Bosworth said.
'As we have seen for the last six months, private sales have continued to fall causing the growth trajectory of new car registrations to steadily drop.
'Many consumers are now starting to gravitate to well-priced ‘nearly-new’ stock as manufacturers reduce the number of subsidised finance offers available.
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'Important to analyse the figures': Private car registrations were down by 1.7% last month while fleet and business registrations were ahead
'With the business market likely to be further impacted by the outcome of the current HMRC review into company cars, the private sales market will become increasingly important to overall registrations in the UK.
'We have also recently seen several foreign-based manufacturers announce the potential move of their European headquarters from the UK, meaning the make-up of the UK car industry in the long term is far from certain.'
Despite Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal reaching a one year anniversary in the month, diesel demand rose by 2.8 per cent in September, while petrol registrations fell by 1.1 per cent.
Volkswagen new car registrations were down 14.1% in September, according to the SMMT. VW sales for the year are now 10.7% behind where they were in 2015
It was also a stellar month for alternatively fuelled vehicles, with registrations growing by 32.6 per cent - that means hybrid and electric cars now make up 3.4 per cent of all car registrations compared to just 2.6 per cent a year ago.
But while diesel sales climbed, Volkswagen registrations continued to slump.
A 14.1 per cent decline was recorded in September as the German manufacturer marked 12 months of ongoing issues associated to the dieselgate scandal.
Just 33,722 Volkswagen cars were registered last month, compared with 39,263 in September 2015 - year-to-date sales for 2016 are down 10.7 per cent on the same point last year.
The Ford Fiesta was the best-selling model of the month, with 19,796 registrations. It's also the most bought car of the year so far.
The Fiesta continues to be the nation's favourite model
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