By Ian Walker
LONDON--U.K. new car registrations rose 12% in February, the
36th consecutive month of growth and taking the run to the longest
on record, an industry body reported Thursday.
In February, typically the slowest month for new cars ahead of
the plate change in March, 76,958 new cars were registered,
compared with 68,736 in the same period a year earlier, taking the
number of cars sold so far this year to 241,814, an 8.3% rise on
the same period a year earlier. The growth was driven by fleet
demand, which grew nearly 20% to 44,719 cars, the U.K. Society of
Motor Manufacturers and Traders said.
"The U.K. car market's sustained expansion is the longest ever
seen, beating the previous record of 26 months set in the late
1980s... as the U.K. continues to bounce back from the recession
and consumer demand has been driven by exciting new products and
attractive finance deals," the SMMT added.
"With most fleet car buyers on a three-year replacement cycle,
many of those cars purchased at the beginning of the current growth
period are now due for replacement. Over the course of 2015,
however, we are expecting a more stable market to emerge given
there has already been an extended period of consistent growth,"
SMMT Chief Executive Officer Mike Hawes said.
New car registrations closely mirror sales.
The SMMT said the U.K.'s top two best-selling cars in February
were the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Golf.
Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com