Britain's new car sales continue rising in August

Britain's new car sales continued rising for 18 successive months, with new car registration reaching 65,937 units in August, surging 10.9 percent year-on-year, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on Thursday. New car sales posed double-digit growth for five consecutive months, pushing the total sales in the first eight months to 1.4 million units, rising 10.4 percent over the same period last year. "British new car registrations have now risen consecutively for a year and a half. Private and fleet buyers are clearly capitalizing on attractive deals and new technologies against a backdrop of increasing economic confidence," said Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive. "Ahead of the September plate-change, August always has far fewer registrations, but the 10.9 percent rise this month bodes well for the new 63-plate," Hawes said. Number plates of newly-registered cars are changed twice a year in Britain, in March and September. The industry organization predicted that the registrations of the new 63-plate in September would increase by 7 percent based on 359,612 units last year. Global credit rating agency Moody's said Britain's car market would grow more than expected this year, with sales reaching 2.2 million units, an increase of 7.6 percent. SMMT figures also show that commercial vehicle registration increased 14.8 percent in August at 13,451 units, adding the total to 190,160 units in the January-August period, rising 7 percent year-on-year.