New car sales were up slightly in October, the second monthly increase in three months.
There were 134,944 new cars registered in October - up by 3,449 units on October 2010 and nearly 9,000 units ahead of forecasts for the month.
The figures received a cautious welcome from UK industry body SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) given ongoing uncertainty over the economy and stability of the Euro.
“October’s new car market rose 2.6% on last year – a positive result despite the uncertain economic climate," said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. “Vehicle manufacturers and their dealer networks are working hard to offer consumers value for money through improved fuel efficiency, low running costs and innovative finance.
However, figures for 2011 to date are down by 4.5% over the same period for 2010, partly a reflection of the fact that the scrappage scheme was still in effect in the first few month of 2010.
October sales are still a massive 20% down on 2007's figures and are more akin to the average share for the month recorded from 1999-2010.
Registrations in the last three months have increased by 0.9% over the same period in 2010, but over the last six months are down by 1.5%.
Paul Everitt warned that, despite the period of relative stability, the industry is looking to the government to encourage growth and spending.
"We expect market conditions to remain challenging and hope the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement later this month will help to boost economic growth and consumer confidence," he said.
SMMT now predicts overall sales for 2011 to hit 1.923m units - and for 2012 to stabilise at 1.96m units.
Segments
Registrations in October were buoyed by a sharp recovery in the small car markets, with the supermini segment up 17.4% and the Mini segment up 4.7%.
SUV sales were also up on the back of new model launches.
The Ford Fiesta was the best selling model in both October and over the year-to-date. SMall cars dominate both lists, with only the BMW 3 Series, Nissan Qashqai and Vauxhall Insignia of larger cars breaking into the top ten.
The Honda Jazz broke into the top ten in October, selling 2,472 units.
Fuel types
Sales of all fuel types were up in October 2011, by modest amounts. The majority of cars sold in the month - and over the year - are diesel-powered cars. The VW Golf was the best selling diesel model in October.
The share of diesel cars sold in the month was 53.4% to 45.4% petrol cars. sales of alt-fueled cars remained sluggish, with only 1.2% of models consisting of cars such as the Toyota Prius hybrid and Nissan Leaf EV.
This figure is only slightly up on the same month in 2010, despite several new electric and hybrid models entering the market over 2011.
Over 2011 to date, alt-fuel cars have performed slightly better, taking a 1.3% share of the market - with 1,589 registrations in the first ten months of the year.
Sectors
The fleet market grew in the month, up by 7.9% on October 2010 at a high market share of 54.6%.
However, private sales fell by 4.3%, although the drop was less pronounced than in previous months.
Fleet and business sales are up by modest amounts on 2010 to date, but private demand is down by 14% over the first ten months of 2011.
Manufacturers - winners and losers
Many volume manufacturers posted modest increases in October, but several manufacturers saw wild fluctuations in sales for the month.
Mazda, Mitsubishi and Volvo all saw sales fall by 35% or more; high-end or sporting marques such as Aston Martin, Bentley and Lotus also saw steep falls, while struggling manufacturers such as Saab - seemingly now saved - and Chrysler, in the process of relaunching itrs European range, had poor months.
Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus and Ssangyong all posted significant sales increase of around 50% or more.
Ford was comfortably the best-selling marque in October, with 18,476 sales good for a market share of 13.69% - up 13.04% on the same month last year.