New-car registrations in the UK rose by 15% year on year in February, with the industry showing signs of recovery following a positive start to 2022.
The latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that 58,994 cars were sold last month – significantly more than in the previous year, which was severely impacted by pandemic-related measures.
However, the SMMT said the positive performance for the month is still down 25.9% compared with pre-pandemic levels, due to impacts of the global shortage of semiconductors. In February 2020, 79,594 cars were sold.
Most of the growth came from private buyers, who accounted for a 30% rise year on year.
