New car sales on the road back to recovery

New car sales last month were down around 13% on the prepandemic April average, new figures show.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) figures show 141,583 new cars were registered in the UK in April.

Although that is a 30-fold increase on the same month in 2020 – when the country was in a full coronavirus lockdown – it is 12.9% lower than the April average between 2010 and 2019.

The trade association say a full recovery of the new car industry "is still some way off".

The SMMT recently raised its forecast on the number of new cars which will be registered this year to 1.86 million – up from the prediction of 1.83 million it issued in February.

The industry body said this is because the economic backdrop has “improved noticeably” over the recent weeks on the back of the vaccine rollout.

Plug-in cars, such as pure electric and plug-in hybrid models, accounted for 13.2% of the new car market last month.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "After one of the darkest years in automotive history, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

"A full recovery for the sector is still some way off, but with showrooms open and consumers able to test drive the latest, cleanest models, the industry can begin to rebuild.

"Market confidence is improving, and we now expect to finish the year in a slightly better position than anticipated in February, largely thanks to the more upbeat business and consumer confidence created by the successful vaccine rollout.”