New car sales picked up last month after fleet buyers showed renewed enthusiasm for purchasing the latest vehicles.
Registrations rose 3.3% against the same month last year after flatlining in July in the wake of the referendum vote.
Fleet sales, such as company cars and rental vehicles, were a strong performer as they rose 7.7% to 43,267, buoyed by attractive finance deals and discounts.
But sales to individual consumers dipped 0.2%, restricting the number of new cars registered in August to 81,640, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
So far this year 1.68m vehicles have been sold, up 2.8% on the same period last year, dispelling fears of a sales slump in the wake of the Brexit vote.
Howard Archer, chief UK economist at consultancy IHS Global Insight, said: “September is a vital month for car sales as they are buoyed by the change in number plates, so the autos sector will be hoping that August’s resilience in new carsales is a sign that fleet operators and private buyers will not be deterred from making car purchases by June’s Brexit vote.”
However, he warned that the outlook for consumer spending was weakening, “thereby weighing down on spending – especially consumers’ willingness and ability to make big ticket purchases such as cars,” he said.
A 0.2% fall in diesel car sales following revelations of emissions test rigging was another drag, with petrol registrations edging ahead 5.3% and alternatively fuelled vehicles, including hybrids and electric cars, seeing significant growth of 30.8%. Almost 54,000 AFVs have been registered so far in 2016, compared with just over 44,000 last year, said the SMMT.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “August is traditionally one of the quietest months as consumers look ahead to the September plate change, so growth, albeit small, is good news.”
