THE UK new car market rose by 2.5 per cent in July, delivering two years of consecutive growth, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Some147,517 new cars reached the road making it the best performance for July since 2020, when a re-opening of dealerships following four months of lockdown saw a surge in deliveries to fulfil demand pent-up demand.

As has been the pattern for the year, July's growth was sustained entirely by the fleet sector, which recorded a 13.0 per cent increase in registrations to achieve a 62.0 per cent market share.

Private demand continued to diminish, falling by 11.1 per cent to account for 36.2 per cent of deliveries in the month,although the growingpopularity of salary sacrifice purchasing will contribute to this decline, said the SMMT.

Electrified vehicledemand outpaced the overall market, accounting for four in 10 (42.0 per cent) new cars registered in the month.

Hybrid electric vehicle uptake increased by 31.4 per cent to achieve a 14.5 per cent market share, while plug-in hybrids grew 12.4 per cent to take 8.9 per cent of registrations.

Battery electric vehicle volumes, meanwhile, were up 18.8 per cent, resulting in an overall market share of 18.5 per cent. While the private share of the BEV market continues to fall - 17.2 per cent were private buyers, compared with 20.3 oer cent last year - private BEV volumes did increase by a marginal 0.9 per cent.

Overall, BEVs account for16.8 per centof the new car market, year to date.

The SMMT warned that with zero emission vehicles mandated to comprise a minimum 22 per cent of each brand'snew car registrations over the full year, the pace of transition needs to increase significantly.

The latest industry outlook, however, suggests that such a surge is looking increasingly unlikely given the current market conditions.

According to the SMMT, while the outlook anticipates overall market growth in 2024, expectations have been revised downwards sinceApril,with 1.968 million new car registrations now forecast by the end of the year.

The anticipated BEV share of the market has also been revised downwards to 18.5per cent from the 19.8 per cent expected in April.

The recent interest rate cut was already ‘priced in' to the latest outlook but further cuts would be welcome, helping reduce the costs of finance and making new car purchases more accessible to more consumers.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive,said, "Two years of new car market growth against a backdrop of a turbulent economy is testament to the sector's resilience and the attractiveness of the deals on offer.

"Weakening private retail demand, however, particularly for EVs and despite generous manufacturer discounts, is the over-riding concern. More people than ever are buying and driving EVs but we still need the pace of change to quicken, else the UK's climate change ambitions are threatened and manufacturers' ability to hit regulated EV targets are at risk.

"Achieving market transition at the pace demanded requires greater support for consumers and, with the all-important new numberplate month of September beckoning, action on incentives and infrastructure is needed now."

The best selling new car in July was the Kia Sportage with 3,999 models sold, ahead of the Nissan Qashqai on 3,633 and the Ford Puma which clocked up 3,418 sales in the month.