(Thu 04 Mar 10)

The Society of Motor Manufacturers has reported the eighth successive month of growth in new car registrations. 68,686 cars were registered in February, an improvement of 26.4% over the dark days of the same month last year, with scrappage deals accounting for around a fifth of all transactions.

Not unexpectedly, the Ford Fiesta is romping away from everything else on the charts with 12,121 registrations so far this year compared with 9988 for the Focus. Next up are the Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Polo, Vauxhall Astra and Volkswagen Golf.

The Fiesta accounts for more than a third of Ford's total registration figure, which needless to say is the highest of any manufacturer, with Vauxhall second. Further down the list, Hyundai and Kia are showing spectacular growth, with registration figures more than three times those of the first two months of 2009. The figures for Renault have more than doubled, and although Toyota has declined slightly it's not because of the recall problems. After a slow January, Toyota registrations in February were up by a modest but significant 15%.

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