November new car registrations were 1.5% down but private buyers were undeterred by last month's interest rate rise and bought 2.1% more cars than a year ago.

The SMMT reports that diesel penetration reached a record high at 31.1% of the market. The private market rise in November was the sixth successive increase, and the market is on track for a record total as year-to-date registrations climbed 0.2% last month. The November new car market totalled 169,059 units.

”At the beginning of 2003, the industry expected new car registrations to cool, forecasting a 6% dip compared with 2002's total. However, a truly amazing market throughout the year has exceeded all expectations and the year is now firmly on course towards its third successive record total”, commented SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan.

He continued, “To reach the (SMMT's) year-end forecast, 141,400 units must be registered in December, a dip of 2.2 per cent on 2002's figure.”