UK new car sales rise 9.3 percent in 2014 to 10-year high.

LONDON (Reuters) - British car sales rose by nearly 10 percent last year to hit their highest level in 10 years at 2.476 million units, cementing Britain's place as the European Union's second-largest car market, an industry body said on Wednesday.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said sales had been bolstered by strong economic confidence, but that it expected sales growth in 2015 to level off, as sales were now above historic average rates.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes told reporters late on Tuesday that he expected sales growth of 2-3 percent in 2015, and that manufacturers' forecasts were in the 1-2 percent region.

Sales across the EU as a whole rose by around 5.7 percent in 2014, the SMMT said. Only Spain -- where there were government purchase incentives -- saw faster sales growth than Britain.

(Reporting by David Milliken and Andy Bruce; editing by William Schomberg)
Culled from Yahoo News.