The number of new cars registered in March was up nearly 18 per cent on the month in 2013, with new car registrations reaching their highest point for ten years.
A total of 464,824 cars were registered last month, bringing the total number of cars registered this year to 688,122.
March is typically the strongest month of the year for new car sales, accounting for almost a fifth of registrations for the whole year.
Since the move to twice-yearly plate changes in 1999, only March 2004 has seen higher registrations than those recorded last month, with 466,954 cars finding homes in that month.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: "Given the past six years of subdued economic performance across the UK, there is still a substantial margin of pent-up demand that is contributing to a strong new and used car market.
"There has never been a better time to buy a new car thanks to attractive finance deals and advanced technologies that often make new cars cheaper to run. We expect the market to continue to perform positively for the rest of the year, albeit at a more modest rate."
The Ford Fiesta remains Britain's best-selling car, followed by the Ford Focus and the Vauxhall Corsa. The Volkswagen Golf comes in fourth, followed by the Vauxhall Astra, the Nissan Qashqai and the VW Polo, with the Fiat 500, BMW 3 Series and Toyota Yaris rounding off the top ten.
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