LONDON (Reuters) - British new car registrations in May rose by 2.4 percent year-on-year to 198,706 vehicles, an industry body said on Thursday.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the increase meant sales were up by 5.7 percent in the first five months of the year.
The SMMT said sales in the January-May period had been boosted by a four-fold increase in ultra-low emission vehicles.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said the association expected "a natural levelling out of the overall new car market throughout the remainder of 2015".
The body has previously forecast that new car sales in 2015 as a whole will rise nearly 4 percent compared to last year, helped by cheap credit and strong levels of consumer confidence.