The UK’s new car market fell -10.4% in April, with 120,331 units registered, according to the latest data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It was the sixth fall in the last seven months, with 13,943 fewer cars registered in the month compared with the year before, and 25.3% behind pre-pandemic April 2019.
In what is traditionally a quieter month following the March plate change, volumes were also impacted by the late timing of Easter, and the implementation of VED changes.
Registrations fell across all sales types, with private (-7.9%), fleet (11.9%) and business (-10.9%) demand all down. Continuing market trends, fleet buyers drove activity, responsible for six in 10 registrations.
Year-to-date the new BEV car market is up 3.1% and, with new BEV registrations up 35.2% to push market share to 20.7%, these models are now the second most popular powertrain.
The UK’s used car market started the year on a high with 2,020,990 vehicles changing hands in Q1 – the first time sales have breached two million in the first quarter since before the pandemic. Sales grew by 2.7% on the same period last year, capping off nine consecutive quarters of growth as the market responded to greater supply from the new car sector. The BVRLA remains concerned that the uplift in demand is still not keeping pace with the increasing supply, so volatility will remain without further support for the market.
ICE cars made up 90.5% of all used transactions in the quarter. However, their combined market share fell -2.4% on Q1 2024 as more buyers opted for electrified options.
Meanwhile, UK demand for new light commercial vehicles (LCVs) fell by -14.9% in April with 20,332 vehicles registered.
It was the worst April performance since 2020, in part due to the timing of Easter, while it is also traditionally a low volume month and, therefore, subject to fluctuations. The decline marks the fifth consecutive month of falling demand.
More positively, April demand for new battery electric vans (BEVs) weighing up to 4.25 tonnes grew for the seventh month running, up by 77.5% to 1,686 units, representing 8.3% of the market – a significant 4.3ppt rise on the same month last year.
More information on the SMMT website.
