Scotland showing a greater appetite for new cars

SCOTTISH new car sales bucked the UK-wide trend in May, with a 2.9 per cent rise north of the Border contrasting with a 1.7 per cent fall for the UK as a whole.

Douglas Robertson, chief executive of the Scottish Motor Traders' Association, said: "We are pleased to see the sales figures have continued their stabilisation of the past few months.

"Perhaps now we are just beginning to see evidence that the second half of the year will show the improvement we have been predicting would happen."

Paul Everitt, chief executive of the UK-wide Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said strong orders from fleet managers and other business buyers were helping the decline in sales to level out.

Although yesterday's figures represented the 11th consecutive month of falling UK sales, the decline has slowed from the 7.4 per cent drop posted during April, the SMMT said.