Nearly half a million cars were registered last month, with fleet and business registrations responsible for more than half the new auto market, up nearly 15% on September, 2014.
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The figures mean that more than two million new cars have been sold in the United Kingdom by the end of September for the first time since 2004.
Registrations increased 6 percent from last year as it is traditionally one of the biggest months of the year.
While the figures underlined strong demand for the new 65-plates, they did not reflect any significant impact on sales as a result of the emissions scandal, the industry body said.
The company also suspended from United Kingdom sale 4,000 vehicles with the EA189 engine – representing 3% of its new vehicle stock.
In total, 237,896 petrol cars were sold in September compared to 212,505 diesel.
So far in 2015, 2,096,886 cars were registered, which was 7.1 percent higher than at the same point previous year. This puts total year-to-date growth at 3.1% for diesel, 9.5% for petrol and 48.7% for AFVs.
‘The market reached pre-recession levels a few time ago, and we anticipate a few levelling off in the coming months.
“While the United Kingdom economy may now be going through a softer patch, this is certainly not true of vehicle sales”, said economist Howard Archer from analysts IHS.
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“With plenty of attractive, affordable deals available on the new 65-plate, Britain’s auto buyers – whether private, fleet or business consumers – were busier than ever”, said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.
