True fleet registrations continued to rise in July, albeit with slightly more muted growth, latest Dataforce figures show.

Nissan held the top spot outright for the first time since Dataforce statistics began.

Although last month’s rise of 15.0% didn’t quite bear up to June’s 19.5% growth, it still helped push the year-to-date channel growth to 13.4%. In comparison, private registrations were down 3.5% while Special Channels once again returned to double-digit territory with a 12.4% rise. Overall, the total market in July saw 115,000 registrations, up 3.5%.

Within the true fleet league table, Nissan put in a strong performance, jumping eight places to take the top spot with its best figures ever in True Fleet – July also marked the first month it has held the top spot outright since the Dataforce statistics began, although it came joint first with Renault in March 2015.

Volkswagen was second, with a little over 100 units separating it from third-placed SEAT, which saw 66.2% growth. Audi in fourth leapfrogged Mercedes in fifth and Renault in sixth, both of who retained their July 2016 places.

Slight downturns were seen by Peugeot, placed seventh and Ford, in eighth, while ninth-placed BMW was only up by 24 units. Opel saw its fourth month of negative growth, falling eight places into 10th position.

Looking at the true fleet vehicle segments league table, Dataforce reported excellent growth for SUVs, up by 27.1% over last year and currently in the top spot. The small cars segment – in third place – is also up by 32.0% and could provide a serious challenge for the second-placed compact car segment if it continues its current trajectory. However the biggest gain in growth terms comes from the utilities segment in sixth place.

After seven months, this segment is showing 55.2% growth and is currently just 1,300 units away from beating last year’s total figure, which was its best year since Dataforce figures started in 2005.