New vehicle sales accelerate to 10-year high in 2015

The number of new vehicles sold in Britain last year reached its highest level in a decade, official figures show.

Some 3.21 million new vehicles were registered in 2015, according to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

This represents an 8% annual rise and is the first time the figure has exceeded three million since 2005.

Car sales rose by 7% to 2.6 million, while light goods vehicle registrations increased by 16% to 375,000.

At the end of the year there were 36.5 million vehicles licensed for use on Britain's roads, of which 30.3 million were cars.

Around 30,000 ultra-low emission vehicles were sold in the UK, representing 0.9% of all new registrations, compared with 0.5% in 2014.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin claimed the figures show Britain's economy is "on the move".

He said: "We are determined to deliver better journeys to drivers, which is why we are making a £21 billion investment in our roads, which is the biggest in a generation.

"I am pleased to see that registrations of ultra-low emission vehicles have soared by nearly 90% in a year as drivers see the advantage of cleaner, greener vehicles that are cheaper to run."