Ten facts about the UK's car market in 2016

According to figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the UK's new car market grew by 5.3 per cent in March.

What that means - if you're still awake reading this - is that March 2016 now becomes the biggest ever month since the bi-annual plate change began in 1999. Woo hoo!

Okay, it isn't as exciting as a 900bhp drift Mustang making lots of noise and tyre smoke. But it's important, because it means the automotive industry continues to grow, and that can only be good news. And there are few interesting asides that reveal your buying habits.

So, here are the main trends from March, according to the SMMT...

No great surprise there, considering the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa are the first and second most bought cars in 2016 so far.

Again, nothing new here, considering the proliferation of the things. But one in six new cars registered last month were SUVs - a total of 85,000. Which represents a 140 per cent increase over a decade ago. Wowsers.

And if you want a fast one - like the BMW X5 M pictured above - click here for our definitive list of the fastest accelerating SUVs on sale today...

In March 2006, just 1,354 electric/hybrid cars were registered in the UK. Last month, over 17,000 were snapped up, representing a 1,173 per cent increase. And with the new Tesla Model 3 enjoying quite a few pre-orders, this trend sets to continue.

This mirrors 2015's trend. The second and third most popular car colours? Unsurprisingly, black and grey, respectively. You're a safe old bunch.

Or maybe not? More than 3,000 went for the colour of choice for Lambos and Focus STs everywhere, while March saw 2,000 of you buy a new car in a fetching yellow.

Small family cars and the best-selling superminis are typically snapped up in white paint jobs. The executive cars and the faster, pointer cars though, are more likely to be painted in black.

That's around one sixth of all new car registrations in the UK. London was followed up by the West Midlands, who bought 13 per cent of all new cars in March, with the East on 11 per cent.

Demand in Wales shot up by 46 per cent, Northern Ireland by more than a fifth.

A natural consequence of all those hybrids, no doubt. The average CO2 figure emitted by new cars is also at an all-time low - down to just 121.4g/km, which is down 32.9 per cent on 15 years ago.

We present this fact without comment.