New car registrations pass two million in 2014 with October surge

New car registrations jumped 14.2% in October to 179,714 units. 2,137,910 cars have been registered in the year-to-date. The first time the market has passed two million in October since 2007. The October performance exceeded expectations. We expect total sales to be just under 2.5 million in 2014 up by 8% on prior year.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “The October new car market outperformed expectations, with registrations showing the strongest growth in a month since March’s 18% rise. With economic confidence still rising, customers continue to benefit from attractive financial packages on exciting new models”.