Car sales have continued to soar as cheap finance deals and rising second hand prices tempt more people to buy new – and the petrol engine is staging a comeback.
New car registrations were up 14.8 per cent annually in April, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported with private buyers snapping up a third more vehicles in April than in March.
The rise in new car sales has been driven by affordable finance offers, such as those that allow buyers to put down minimal deposits and get a showroom fresh version of one of Britain's favourite cars for less than £150 per month.
Hot hatch: The Ford Fiesta is Britain's favourite new car, as buyers are tempted to opt for a showroom fresh model by cheap finance deals.More... How younger drivers can beat the car insurance trap - and even drive a more exciting car Could you be paying less for your car insurance? Find out here
At the same time businesses with fleet vehicles and private owners are holding onto cars for longer, decreasing the supply of popular three-year-old used motors and sending their prices up.
The most recent used car report from British Car Auctions said prices were up 17 per cent in the year to March.
Car sales hit 163,357 units in April, the month’s best performance since 2008.
SMMT Interim Chief Executive, Mike Baunton, said: ‘The UK new car market continues to perform surprisingly strongly, with volumes again increasing in April. While the headline increase was up almost 15% there were more sales days this year than last
‘The UK continues to perform well ahead of the troubled Eurozone as consumer confidence, regular purchase cycles, attractive finance deals and wider market factors continue to make new car buying favourable for motorists.’
Britain's favourite carsBritain’s favourite new car remains the Ford Fiesta, followed by the Vauxhall Corsa and Ford Focus.
The list of top new sellers is dominated by smaller vehicles, with the largest vehicle on the list Nissan’s Qashqai crossover.
April's best sellers1 Ford Fiesta 8,083 2 Vauxhall Corsa 6,084 3 Ford Focus 5,944 4 VW Golf 5,283 5 Vauxhall Astra 4,244 6 Nissan Qashqai 3,761 7 VW Polo 3,630 8 Fiat 500 3,037 9 Peugeot 208 2,975 10 Audi A3 2,935
Petrol cars stage a comebackPetrol cars are clawing back some of the ground lost to diesel motors in recent years, as the dramatic increase in their fuel economy shines through.
Drivers who only do minimal miles over short journeys have also been warned off diesels by motoring writers, as they can suffer from issues with diesel particulate filters if they do not do regular long journeys.
Overall car sales this year are 8.9 per cent better than at the same stage in 2012, with diesels up 4.5 per cent but petrol cars up 13.7 per cent.
There are still a shade more diesels sold at 50.3 per cent to petrol’s 48.6 per cent of the market, with the remaining 1.1 per cent made up of alternative fuels. A year ago the market share figures stood at 52.4 per cent for diesel, 46.3 per cent for petrol, and 1.3 per cent for alternative.