New-car sales struggling
The UK’s new car market fell 10.4 per cent last month after 120,331 units were registered, compared with 134,274 in the same period a year ago.
It was the sixth fall in the past seven months and reflects a fragile economic backdrop and weakened consumer confidence, says the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The latest total was also down 25.3 per cent from the 161,064 new-car sales achieved in pre-pandemic April 2019.
Registrations fell across all sales types, with private, fleet and business demand down by 7.9 per cent, 11.9 per cent and 10.9 per cent respectively.
In terms of powertrains, demand for hybrids fell 2.9 per cent, with petrol and diesel registrations tumbling 22 per cent and 26.2 per cent respectively.
However, registrations for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) went up by 34.1 per cent and battery electric vehicles rose 8.1 per cent to 24,558 units, taking more than one-fifth of the market.
Year-to-date, the new-car market is up 3.1 per cent from 2024 and new BEV registrations have climbed 35.2 per cent.
The April figures come as the latest market outlook revises up full-year 2025 new-car registrations to 1.964 million units but keeps 2026 expectations below the two million mark for what would be the seventh successive year.
