New car registrations in the UK hit the highest number for February since 2004 but many high volume manufacturers experienced a decline in sales.
The latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveal overall sales were up by 8.4 per cent from February 2015 with 83,395 vehicles registered.
The Ford Fiesta remains the top selling car in the month with the Volkswagen Golf the second most popular buy in February followed by the Nissan Qashqai. For the year-to-date, the Qashqai is second behind the Fiesta and ahead of the Vauxhall Corsa.
• Best selling cars in 2016 so far
However, Vauxhall and Volkswagen experienced a 17.6 per cent and 13.1 per cent drop in February while Toyota was down 16.2 per cent. Peugeot, MINI and Dacia were also down.
There was better news for premium German rivals Audi, BMW and Mercedes, though, who all posted increases as did Nissan (driven by Qashqai success), SEAT, Skoda, Volvo and Honda. Top seller Ford also increased.
Demand was up across all fuel types, with diesel and petrol registrations growing by 5.6 per cent and 10.7 per cent respectively, while alternatively-fuelled vehicles enjoyed an uplift of 19.9 per cent. The overall increase has been helped by private sales, too, up 22 per cent with fleet registrations dropping.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said the figures were encouraging for the year ahead. He added: “February is typically one of the quietest months of the year, ahead of March’s plate change, but this positive performance is encouraging and puts the sector in a good position for the coming 12 months.”
Check out our round-up of the best selling cars of 2016 so far...