New car sales hit 11 year high
A total of 169,678 new cars were registered in the UK, up 2.9% compared with January 2015.
That is the highest sales figure for January since 2005, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
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Hide AdLast year saw the highest number of cars ever sold in the UK -, up 6.3% on 2014 to an unprecedented 2.6 million.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “January’s solid performance puts the new car sector in a good position to start the year.
“Providing consumer confidence remains strong, we expect a more stable 12 months ahead, broadly similar to 2015 which was, of course, a record year.”
Volkswagen car sales fell in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal - down 13.9% compared with January 2015.
Other VW brands also struggled, with Seat registrations falling by 24.6% and Skoda down by 2.4%.
But there was better news for Audi, which experienced a 1.4% year-on-year rise last month.