According to the latest figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the UK’s new car market dipped 1.6% in January. 161,013 new cars were registered for use on UK roads, with trends in fuel choice seen last year continuing in the first month of 2019.

Following a decline in December, private buyers returned to showrooms – up 2.9% – registering 71,378 models in the month. Conversely, demand from business and fleet buyers fell by -33.5% and -3.4% respectively.

Meanwhile, appetite for alternatively fuelled vehicles grew 26.3%, resulting in a total 6.8% market share. The performance supports the latest forecast for this sector, currently expected to rise more than a quarter by the end of 2019 to around 177,000 units.

Petrol demand also grew in January, up 7.3%, but this was not enough to offset another month of decline for diesel, as registrations fell 20.3%.