New car sales up 30% in January, says SMMT

Contractors in the automotive sector are likely to welcome news that the VAT hike and the freezing weather appear to have had little impact on the attitudes of UK car buyers.

Sales of new autos rose by 29.8 per cent year-on-year in January 2010 to 145,479, meaning that the market has now expanded for seven months in a row, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed.

The return of the 17.5 per cent VAT rate was offset by the continuation of the vehicle scrappage scheme, which accounted for 17.8 per cent of sales across the month.

Chief executive of the SMMT Paul Everitt expressed his delight at the figures, which he said had been better than expected.

"Signs of recovery in the fleet and business sectors are encouraging," he added.

Increasing demand for cars recently resulted in Nissan announcing the creation of 400 new positions for automotive contractors at its production line in Sunderland.

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