The SMMT data shows that new car registrations grew for the 33rd consecutive month in November as the market continued to exceed expectations amid still-rising consumer confidence.

Fleet registrations continued to rise, up 7.7% in November to 86,090 units from 79,968 in November last year. Meanwhile the sub-25 business sector was up an impressive 30.4% to 8,777 units from 6,733. Both sectors outperformed private registrations, which rose 6.3%.

For the year to date, a total of 2,310,237 cars have been registered, marking a rise of 9.4% and ahead of the 2013 full-year total. Fleet registrations are up 8.1% for the first 11 months of the year to 1,080,577 units from 1,000,066 whilst business registrations are up 17.0% to 114,876 units from 98,205.

Commenting on the figures, David Raistrick, UK automotive leader at Deloitte said: ‘The new car market’s momentum has been maintained, enabling the UK to close in on three years of comparative month on month growth. It has been one of the ongoing success stories of the UK economy and is likely to continue into 2015, supported by investment in UK automotive production, whether for complete vehicles, engines or parts. I am sure many in the industry will be wishing for a strong European recovery during the next 12 months to support an even brighter future.’

Looking behind the numbers, he said: ‘It is worth reflecting that during the year in which petrol and diesel prices reached highs of £1.31 and £1.36 per litre respectively, there has been growth in the number of alternatively fuelled vehicles being sold, but not necessarily in the numbers that might be anticipated. Hybrid technology has been around for some time now, and yet petrol/electric and diesel/electric vehicles accounted for only 1.4% of all cars sold in the UK up to the end of October. Whilst this represents growth of nearly 27%, the actual increase in hybrid cars sold in the first 10 months of the year (6,794) is dwarfed by the increase in sales of diesel powered vehicles (104,680).

‘Whilst there are signs that the market for the alternatively fuelled vehicle is increasing, it is at a relatively slow rate. With fuel prices showing a steady downward trend and consumers’ buying decisions being heavily influenced by a desire for value for money, the price point for the adoption of alternative fuelled vehicles is being driven downwards. In comparison, their ever more efficient petrol and diesel relatives show that they can deliver a cost effective ownership experience.

‘Looking ahead to 2015, sales of hybrid and pure electric vehicles could continue to increase. With vehicle mileage range rising rapidly, the electric vehicle is going to start to come into its own over the next few years. However, overall UK new vehicle sales for FY15 are unlikely to increase over 2014 levels. This is not a bad outcome, but merely reflects the maturity of the current market, which has some of the highest annual levels of new vehicle sales ever achieved.’