LONDON (Reuters) -- British new-car registrations rose by 6 percent in March to 492,774 vehicles, a record for the month this century, the country's automotive industry association said.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the increase resulted from a combination of new products, attractive finance packages and low interest rates.
It was the 37th month of consecutive growth for the U.K.'s new-car market, which was led in March by 12 percent year-on-year growth for the fleet sector to 219,153 units, SMMT figures showed.
“The best month this century for new car registrations is a welcome boost for the U.K.'s thriving automotive sector," SMMT CEO Mike Hawes said in a statement today.
U.K. sales through March increased 6.8 percent to 734,588 vehicles.
The U.K. is the latest major Europe market to report rising registrations in March. In Germany and France sales were up 9 percent, while registrations increased 19 percent in Italy and 41 percent in Spain.
