- Overall the supermini is the most popular car type – a trend which is as true in March 2016 as it was in March 2006, with more than a third of all buyers preferring compact driving.
- The rapid rise of the SUV continues, with more than 85,000 of them newly registered in March – 140% more than a decade earlier and accounting for around one in six new cars last month.
- 10 years ago in March, just 1,354 hybrid and electric cars were registered. In the same month this year more than 17,000 left the UK’s showrooms – a staggering 12-fold, or 1,173%,
- More than a fifth of cars registered in March 2016 were white, following the trend set in 2015, with neutral tones black and grey in second and third place.
- Not all Britons are quite so keen to follow the trend, with some 3,300 new cars specified in orange, 2,000 in yellow and more than 1,000 buyers choosing pink.
- White was the favourite paint in March for superminis and small family cars, with larger executive models and sports cars more likely to come in black.
- Londoners registered around a sixth (17%) of all Britain’s new cars in March 2016, followed by the West Midlands (13%) and the East (11%).
- Drivers in London registered the most new cars of any body type in March, except executive motors, which were most popular in the East of England.
- Around 40% more new cars were registered in Scotland and England during March 2016 than the same month five years ago, while demand in Wales grew 46% and in Northern Ireland by more than a fifth.
- Buyers of new cars in March can look forward to CO2 emissions of around 20% lower than the average car on the road. In fact, average new car CO2 is at an all-time low of 121.4g/km – down 32.9% compared with 15 years ago.
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