New car sales in March rose 17.7% to 464,824 units, the second-highest sales rate since the switch to the twice yearly registration plate change in 1999. Only March 2004 has seen a bigger monthly sales rate, of 466,954. The surge in sales has produced a 13.7% increase in sales so far in 2014. March is traditionally the biggest sales month of the year, accounting for about a fifth of annual registrations. The growth was driven in particular by sales to private buyers, which accounted for 53.1% of sales for the month, up from 51.7% for the same month in 2013. Fleet sales accounted for 44.6% of the March market.
The best-selling model was the Ford Fiesta, as usual, followed by the Ford Focus and Vauxhall Corsa. The recently renewed Nissan Qashqai maintained its momentum with sixth position, while a notable new entry in the top 10 was the Toyota Yaris, in tenth place. A quarter of the 7438 sold were the hybrid version.
Alternatively-fuelled vehicles enjoyed a 63.8% increase compared to the same month in 2013 with sales of 8713, equivalent to a market share of 1.9%, up from 1.3%. Of these 647 were UK-built Nissan Leafs, sales of the all-electric hatchback rising 255% compared to March 2013.
