New car sales fell more than 4% in the UK last month, the second-lowest April since 2012, with analysts blaming consumer reluctance to make significant purchases while Brexit uncertainty persists.
Just over 160,000 new cars were sold, with 10.3% fewer registrations by private motorists than a year ago. Diesel sales continued to decline, and now account for just 29% of the market for new cars, compared to 50% in the year before the VW emissions scandal of 2015.
Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY ITEM Club, said: “Consumer confidence surveys for April indicated that consumers are currently reluctant to make big-ticket purchases despite the delaying of Brexit. Additionally, it is by no means certain that the recent improvement in consumer spending power will continue.”
Sales had briefly rallied at the start of 2019, and the latest 4.1% fall compares with an unusually strong April in 2018. Ian Plummer, Auto Trader director, commented: “There’s little doubt the market has shown incredible resilience over the last few months, but the effect of the ongoing Brexit uncertainty and fuel type confusion is hard to ignore.”
Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers Association, said the timing of Easter had contributed to the overall fall in sales, but there was continuing “solid demand at dealerships for used and nearly new cars”.
Manufacturers said the removal of government grants towards the purchase of hybrid vehicles had also weighed on sales of some of the cleaner vehicles available, with sales of plug-in hybrids down 34% year on year – the biggest drop in a single month since the grants were axed in October.
Electric car sales rose more than 50%, although at just over 1,500 units they remain less than 1% of new cars sold, according to the figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
The industry trade body said manufacturers were investing heavily to bring ultra-low and zero emission cars to market, but that government support was needed to build up consumer confidence.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said there was a growing range of pure electric cars, but added: “They still only represent a tiny fraction of the market and are just one of a number of technologies that will help us on the road to zero.
“We need policies that help get the latest, cleanest vehicles on the road more quickly and support market transition for all drivers.”
Car dealers echoed calls for more support to facilitate the move towards greener fleets. The government has targeted a ban on conventional petrol and diesel cars by 2040, and pressure is growing to bring the date forward.
Plummer said the introduction of the ultra-low emission zone in London had prompted an 81% increase in a year in Auto Trader searches for AFVs [alternatively-fuelled vehicles] in the capital, and the fastest-selling used car last month was, for the first time, an electric hybrid.
