New 66 plate drives September car sales record - SMMT

The UK's car industry has enjoyed a record September for sales of new vehicles as it continues to warn of future uncertainty over the Brexit vote.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 469,696 cars were sold in the country last month as buyers sought out the new 66 plate.

The performance represented a 1.6% increase on the same month last year - with 2.15 million cars sold in the year to date.

That is a rise of 2.6% on the same period in 2015.

The SMMT said growth was driven by the fleet sector, which saw a 7.3% rise in September while private sales fell by 1.7%.

It also charted a 2.8% rise in diesel sales versus a decline of 1.1% petrol - with sales of electric and hybrid models continuing to show strong growth of almost 33%.

Last month the SMMT reported UK manufacturing at a 14-year high .

But its chief executive Mike Hawes warned again on Wednesday that "political uncertainty" had placed future industry growth in peril.

He said: "The new 66 plate, combined with a diverse range of exciting new models featuring the latest technology, has certainly helped draw buyers into showrooms and many are taking full advantage of the attractive deals and low interest financing options on offer.

"However, business and consumers place September orders many months in advance, so the ability of the market to maintain this record level of demand will depend on the ability of Government to overcome political uncertainty and
safeguard the conditions that underpin consumer appetite."

There was a crumb of comfort for diesel emissions scandal-hit Volkswagen (LSE: 0P6N.L - news) in the SMMT's figures.

While sales of its cars fell 14% in September, its Golf model was the third most popular - behind the runaway leader Ford Fiesta and the Vauxhall Corsa.