- 1,287,265 new cars registered in first six months of the year – a 10.6% rise and the best half-year total since 2005.
- June saw new car registrations rise 6.2% to 228,291 units.
- Consumer demand for efficiency has driven alternatively-fuelled vehicle registrations up 51.3% to 23,337 units year-to-date.
- Market on track for 2.4 million new car registrations in 2014, up more than 6% on last year.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “Improving economic conditions have helped propel the UK new car market to a strong first half-year performance, with registrations up 10.6% on the same period in 2013.
“Key to attracting consumers is the ever-improving efficiency of new cars, an important factor that is highlighted by the 51.3% increase in alternatively-fuelled vehicle registrations so far this year. The overall market has risen faster than we were expecting but, after a bumper March, growth is showing signs of stabilising around our forecast level.”
UK new car registrations – rolling-year volumes since January 2012 and quarterly growth rates to date
Average new car CO2 emissions by quarter – Q1 2012 to date
- Car manufacturers invest billions in increasing new car efficiency, and motorists are benefiting from lower running costs. The average new car registered so far in 2014 returns 57.4mpg on the combined cycle compared with 54.5mpg in 2012.
- Increased efficiency brings lower emissions: average UK new car CO2 output has reduced 6.5% between Q1 2012 (134.6g/km) and Q2 2014 (125.8g/km).
- Car buyers’ quest for economy has driven the alternatively-fuelled vehicle market up 51.3% in the first six months of 2014 alone, while registrations of pure-electric cars have more than doubled in the same period (up 143.9%).
- More information on the automotive industry’s environmental performance can be found in SMMT’s 15th Annual Sustainability Report, published this week.
Click through to download the full June 2014 new car registrations news release and data table.
