UK car registrations up in Sept, diesel sales strong - SMMT

LONDON, Oct (HKSE: 3366-OL.HK - news) 6 (Reuters) - British new car registrations rose by nearly 9 percent in September compared with the same month last year and overall demand for diesel vehicles remained strong despite Volkswagen (Other OTC: VLKAF - news) 's emissions scandal, an industry body said on Tuesday.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said new car registrations rose by a yearly 8.6 percent last month to 462,517 units.

"It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) is too early to draw conclusions (from the VW scandal), but customer demand for diesel remained strong, accounting for one in two cars registered," SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said.

Sales of VW-branded cars in Britain were up just under 4 percent compared to September last year, with Volkswagen-owned Audi (LSE: 0FG8.L - news) seeing sales rise 11 percent in the same period.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas, writing by William Schomberg)