Car dealerships cruise into new year

Scottish car dealers made a strong start to the year as motorists splashed out on more fuel efficient vehicles.

Fords Fiesta has raced to the top of the sales league. Picture: Contributed

Figures published yesterday showed that the solid performance seen in 2013 had continued into last month, with a 9 per cent year-on-year rise in new car sales. That was better than a UK-wide gain of 7.6 per cent.

Of the 12,674 vehicles registered north of the Border in January, the top three best sellers were the Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Polo and Vauxhall Corsa – all small, hatchback models with an emphasis on fuel efficiency.

Douglas Robertson, chief executive of the Scottish Motor Trade Association, said: “We believe that fuel efficiency is the driving factor and that more and more of the car buying public are accepting this.”

Across the UK, there were 154,562 new vehicles registered last month, according to the monthly data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It said sales of alternatively fuelled vehicle rose by 25 per cent.