UK new car market declines as expected in April

"As expected, following an all-time high result in March, April saw a -19.8% decline in new vehicle sales as a result of a number of factors, including the increase in VED on 1 April, which prompted buyers to bring their purchases forward into March, and Easter falling during the month. Intelligence from NFDA members suggests that footfall has remained stable, but there is an element of uncertainty, particularly due to the upcoming elections, which is encouraging customers to delay their purchases", said Sue Robinson, Director of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), representing franchised car and commercial vehicle dealers in the UK commenting on the latest SMMT’s new car registration figures.

New passenger car registrations declined by -19.8% in April, with 152,076 units. Year to date the market is still higher than last year by 1.1% and a total of 972,092 cars registered in first four months. Petrol, diesel and alternative fuel vehicle registrations all decreased.

Robinson continued, “Alternatively fuelled vehicles saw a slight decline of -1.3% following 47 consecutive months of growth. It is important that the Government continues to support motorists who are willing to switch to greener cars.
“April is traditionally one of the quieter months for new car retail. Positively, year to date the market remains up by 1.1% and with record low interest rates and record high employment levels consumer demand is expected to remain stable going forward.”