UK new car sales jump as demand for electric vehicles soars

A car is plugged in at a charging point for electric vehicles in London, Britain, March 6, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson - Copyright SIMON DAWSON(Reuters)

By Reuters

Published on 05/09/2018 - 10:34•Updated 25/04/2024 - 07:34

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LONDON (Reuters) - British new car registrations jumped by an annual 23.1 percent in August as demand for electric and alternatively fuelled vehicles soared by nearly 90 percent, a car industry body said on Wednesday.

Overall new car sales reached 94,094 units last month with a record one in 12 buyers purchasing an electric model, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

"Given August is always a small month in new car registrations ahead of the important plate-change month of September, it would be wrong to view the market as booming," SMMT boss Mike Hawes said.

August is typically the second-weakest month for car sales in Britain, the SMMT said.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by William Schomberg)

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