Sales of new cars reach their highest level for ten years
NEW car sales for April hit a ten-year high as booming consumer confidence got the vehicle-buyers’ vote.
A sunny ‘ spring showroom surge’ saw UK new registrations soar by 5.1 per cent to 185,778 cars – the best April performance since 2005.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said it was the 38th consecutive month of growth and has put car sales on course for a ‘near-record’ 2.5million for the whole of this year.
However, industry bosses also warn that ‘long-term success’ in the industry will depend largely on economic and political stability in the years ahead’.
The Conservatives and particularly Chancellor George Osborne have cited growing car sales as a vote of confidence in their stewardship of the economy.
By contrast, car sales slumped at the end of the last Labour administration, hitting a low of 133,475 in April 2009 and creeping up only to 148,793 in April 2010 on the eve of that year’s May election. The SMMT said the strong April was down to private and fleet buyers being ‘ buoyed’ by high levels of consumer confidence, low interest rates, and competitive deals.
Its report said: ‘April’s strong performance, which comes after a record first quarter for the sector, tracks a 12-year high for consumer confidence and continues a pattern of growth in new car registrations around General Elections that dates back to 1979.’
The SMMT noted that all but three of the past nine General Elections have coincided with a rise in demand for new cars in the three months immediately before and after polling day.
It said that ‘notable exceptions’ were during the recessions of 1992 and 2010, while the 2005 election period saw registrations dip as part of the ‘natural mar- ket readjustment’ following ‘peak volumes’ in 2002.
Car-makers said demand following the election outcome is forecast to continue upwards, fuelled by new products, attractive finance deals and low interest rates.
These will ‘inspire consumers and businesses to give the new car market their vote of confidence’ said the SMMT.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘Today’s figures highlight the current strength of consumer confidence, even at a time of such political uncertainty.
‘We are confident that the UK’s new car market – so symbolic of economic mood – will continue to thrive, but long-term success will depend largely on economic and political stability in the months and years ahead.’
The top- selling new vehciles in April were: 1 Ford Fiesta, 2 Ford Focus, 3 VW Golf, 4 Vauxhall Corsa, 5 Nissan Qashqai, 6 VW Polo, 7 Audi A3, 8 Vauxhall Astra, 9 Mercedes-Benz C Class, 10 Mini.