UK new car sales leap 57.6 pct yy in Nov – SMMT

New car sales in Britain leapt an annual 57.6 percent in November, their biggest rise this year as buyers took advantage of a government incentive scheme and a temporary cut in sales tax.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the scrappage scheme accounted for more than a fifth of last month's 158,082 sales. The rise — the fifth in as many months — was boosted by comparison with a particularly weak period last year.

"The increase in new car registrations in November reflects the positive impact of the scrappage incentive scheme, customers avoiding the VAT increase in January and the very difficult conditions we experienced a year ago," said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.

Demand was driven by private buyers, with registrations of small cars continuing the outperform the market.

Ford's <F.N> Fiesta model was the best seller in November, keeping its place at the top of the table for the year-to-date. Ford's Focus model took second place.

The British government launched a scheme earlier this year that offers drivers 2,000 pounds to trade in cars more than 10 years old against a more fuel-efficient newer model.

The scheme has proved popular, prompting the government to boost funding in October to include an additional 100,000 vehicles.

Howard Archer at Global Insight said the rise in car sales would help Britain's economy return to growth in the fourth quarter after its longest recession since World War Two. But he cautioned the scrappage scheme may not benefit Britain as much as it did Germany.

"There is significant debate about just how much overall the car scrappage scheme is helping the UK economy," he said. "The majority of the new cars being bought are imported."