The number of vehicles registered in Great Britain in the second quarter of the year exceeded 800,000 for the first time since 2003, new Department for Transport figures show.

New vehicle registrations in Q2 exceeded 800,000 for the first time since 2003

The data for the April to June period shows that the number of vehicles newly registered was up by 2.4% on the same period in 2015.

The economic downturn during the recession of 2008/9 affected the new registration figures, which fell below 600,000 in the second quarter of the year. In each year since 2011, there has been a year-on-year increase in the number of new registrations in the second quarter.

The DfT data also shows at the end of June 2016 there were 37.1 million vehicles licensed for use on the roads in Great Britain, of which 30.7 million were cars.

In June 2016, the numbers of licensed cars and vans were at their highest ever levels. The numbers of motorbikes, HGVs and buses & coaches, on the other hand, remained below their peak levels, which they reached between 2004 and 2009.