UK manufactured cars see surge in demand

UK manufactured cars are hot in demand, with figures showing January 2016 was the best year for new car registrations in 11 years. The figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), showed a 2.9% increase in the amount of new car registrations to 169,678 units.

The news will be welcomed by UK car manufacturers, who will hope that 2016 proves to be yet another record breaking year. The demand for alternative fueled vehicles is also on the increase, registrations have soared by 32.1% with 6,075 registered in January 2016. As a result of this increase in demand, alternative fueled vehicles are now more popular than ever in the UK claiming 3.3% of the market. Petrol Hybrids showed the largest growth with 44.1% to 3,783. More plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles have been rolling out of showrooms in January 2016 compared to last year, with an increase of 32.3% to 1,592 vehicles, and 14.1% to 584 units respectively.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said:

January’s solid performance puts the new car sector in a good position to start the year. Providing consumer confidence remains strong, we expect a more stable 12 months ahead, broadly similar to 2015 which was, of course, a record year.