New car registrations | February 2019

Ian Plummer, Auto Trader Director:

"With January to March accounting for roughly a third of the year’s total new car sales, the need for a strong first quarter can’t be over-estimated. In the context of all the ongoing uncertainty caused over recent months by both Brexit and changing government “sticks and carrots” about which type of fuel we should buy, the fact that the first two months of 2019 are roughly in line with 2018 should be seen very positively. Some of the same brands which stood out in 2018 continue to build on their success in 2019 with strong starts from the likes of Kia, Seat, Volvo, Peugeot, Toyota, Mazda and Suzuki.

“We’re still confident that sales for the quarter as a whole will remain in line with last year’s performance. That’s because the industry remains laser focused on offering enticing deals for consumers ahead of whatever the 29^th March will bring.”