UK new car registrations down 89% year-on-year in April 2020
Sharp fall for car sales as lockdown closes dealerships, but rise of click-and-collect sales saw vast improvement over April
UK new car registrations dropped -89% year-on-year last month as a result of the nationwide lockdown, making it the worst May for car sales since 1952.
Latest figures from the SMMT reveal that just 20,247 cars were registered last month, down from 183,724 in the same month last year. Of these, 12,900 were for private sales and 6638 were fleet purchases.
Despite the year-on-year decline, the figures mark a near-five-fold increase over new car registrations in April, when 4321 cars were sold. Click-and-collect car buying services were given the green light on 13 May, meaning manufacturers could begin selling cars again under strict social distancing measures.
The SMMT records declines in the market for every car segment and fuel type, except pure-electric vehicles, which saw a 21.5% year-on-year increase as pre-ordered premium cars - such as the Tesla Model 3 and Jaguar I-Pace - were delivered to customers.
Registrations of plug-in hybrids were down -65.1% and petrol cars -90.5%, but diesel was hardest-hit, with sales in this segment dropping -93% compared to April 2019.
The latest decline means the overall market is now down -51.4% in the first five months of 2020, with half a million new car registrations since 1 January, compared to more than one million across the same period in 2019.
Showrooms in England have now been allowed to re-open for the first time in more than two months, but dealerships in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland remain closed.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “After a second month of shutdown and the inevitable yet devastating impact on the market, this week’s re-opening of dealerships is a pivotal moment for the entire industry and the thousands of people whose jobs depend on it.
“Customers keen to trade up into the latest, cutting-edge new cars are now able to return to showrooms and early reports suggest there is good business given the circumstances, although it is far too early to tell how demand will pan out over the coming weeks and months.”
This breaking news story is being updated.
*Read more*
*Special report: Covid-19 and the future of the UK car industry*
*Aston Martin to axe 500 jobs due to reduced sports car production*
*Inside the industry: Why scale is critical to mainstream car makers*
