Scotland’s motor traders have revved up their sales figures after a record September for new car registrations.
A total of 41,852 vehicles were registered as the new ‘64’ plate was launched in showrooms last month.
The figure was 485 higher than the number of cars registered in September last year and is a record for the industry in Scotland for the period.
However, the 1.17% registration uplift north of the border was significantly behind the 5.64% increase in the UK as a whole, and Scottish Motor Trade Association chief executive Douglas Robertson believes the market is showing signs of levelling off.
“Once again we are pleased to see an increase in September which, is one of the two new plate months in the year,” he said.
“This sales figure is a record for September. However, it has not surpassed March of this year which was our best month ever.
“I think we are now starting to see a levelling off of the market and I would expect to see the remaining months of the year to show little growth.
“Nevertheless I think that 2014 will go down as one of the best years for new car registrations that Scotland has seen, and SMTA members have reported that their showrooms remain busy as consumers continue to seek fuel-efficient new cars with lower running costs.”
The most popular car in Scotland during the month was the Vauxhall Corsa with 2,135 new vehicles registered, with the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Astra, Fiat 500 and Renault Clio rounding out the top five.
Euan Murray of Barclays Corporate Banking, Scotland, also expects the market to flatten as the winter months draw in.
“The heady cocktail of a new plate change, great finance deals and the appeal of increasingly fuel-efficient cars resulted in September being another strong month for new car sales,” Mr Murray said
“Consumers are also benefiting from stable residual values enabling them to trade in their old cars for shiny new models at a similar monthly cost.
“While the market is likely to balance out over the final few months of the year, 2014 is destined to be another success story for dealers and manufacturers.”
The Scottish figures came as the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders released new UK-wide data showing new vehicle registrations up 9.1% in the year to date to just shy of two million.
The statistics show the plate change months of March and September are together responsible for more than a third of full-year registrations.
“September’s strong performance underlines the continuing robustness of the UK new car market, particularly in the context of last September’s bumper volumes,” SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said.
“In the months since March the growth has shown signs of levelling off as the market starts to find its natural running rate.”