A combination of the lure of good deals in the showroom and low running costs associated with newer vehicles is prompting people to the forecourt in search of bargain buys and special offers.
That has resulted in an 11th successive monthly rise in new car registrations, with the Ford Fiesta the best seller last month, followed by the Focus, Vauxhall Astra, Corsa and Nissan Qashqai.
The Volkswagen Polo, Golf, Peugeot 208, Juke and the Mercedes C-Class complete the top-10 sellers from January.
Financial experts welcomed the news as a spokesman for CFD trading experts City Index said: “The strong start to 2013 for UK car sales is extremely pleasing to see.
“We have now seen 11 consecutive monthly gains in sales, showing good momentum.
“Yet, caution is required as this figure can be somewhat volatile and is not matched with broader European car sales.”
A promising month of trading in January has led to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revising its forecasts the remainder of this year and for 2014, with the market expected to rise by 2.6 per cent to 2.11 million units next year.
Mike Baunton, SMMT’s interim chief executive, said in a statement: “The new car market has started the year confidently with registrations climbing 11.5 per cent in January.
“Lifted by a solid rise in private demand, the new car market posted its 11th successive month of growth with motorists attracted to forecourts by the latest models and competitive deals on offer.
“Building on a strong performance in 2012, SMMT has increased its market forecast – we anticipate a modest rise over the year, followed by further growth in 2014.”
