New car registrations in the U.K. increased in June from a year ago, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed Friday.
The total new car registrations rose 6.2 percent year-on-year in June to 228,291 units. In the same month last year, it was 214,957 units.
In the first half of the year, the number of registered cars surged 10.6 percent to 1,287,265 units from 1,163,623 units in the same period last year, which was the best half-year total since 2005.
In 2014, car registrations may grow more than 6 percent to 2.4 million, SMMT reported.
Ford fiesta topped the best sellers list in June with 11,213 units. This was followed by Vauxhall Corsa with the sale of 7,961 units.
"Key to attracting consumers is the ever-improving efficiency of new cars, an important factor that is highlighted by the 51.3 percent increase in alternatively-fueled vehicle registrations so far this year," Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said.
"The overall market has risen faster than we were expecting but, after a bumper March, growth is showing signs of stabilizing around our forecast level."
