Year-to-date figures also show a 1.9% decrease compared to the same period in 2024, with 227,762 registrations.

Now, Scotland’s largest automotive trade body, the Scottish Motor Trade Association (SMTA), can confirm the picture north of the border where sales are down 9.9% in comparison to UK totals.

But the figures between Scotland and the rest of the UK are more in line with the norms with Scotland down minus 2% YTD against the rest of the UK at minus 1%.

Pure battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales YTD are showing a healthy 57% increase against 2024 with BEV cars now accounting for 13.5% of total sales.

SMTA chief executive Alan Gall said: “On the surface, Scotland’s vehicle sales for February have Scotland as an outlier compared with the rest of the UK, however it does not take too much investigation to see this is only a small part of the story.

“February is always a strange month with private buyers preferring to wait for the new number plate on the 1st of March, and fleet operators are often in a position of strength in their negotiations with manufacturers desperate to achieve their monthly sales targets.

“Fleet sales are down 19% for the month and, whilst this is more than likely a blip in what is traditionally a problematic month, we will keep an eye on this hoping the blip does not become a trend.

“Sales of BEV cars, meanwhile, have spiked due to the pending tax changes in April meaning many models will be subject to vehicle excise duty expensive car supplement for the first time.”

In terms of car brands, Volkswagen continues to motor ahead as the country’s favourite brand increasing its market share to just under 12%. Corsa leads the way as Scotland’s best-selling car while Vauxhall continues its resurgence in 2025 with YTD sales growing by 50% versus 2024.