New car retail demand took an 8% hit in April as tax changes started to bite, but the private market is still up 6.3% year-to-date.
The latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows that the overall market was down by 10.4% or 13,943 units to 120,331 units in total, but the biggest drag on registrations was the fleet sector.
Fleet and business demand dropped by 11.9% and 10.9% respectively in April.
It was the sixth fall in the last seven months, which the SMMT said reflects “a fragile economic backdrop and weakened consumer confidence, with 13,943 fewer cars registered in the month compared with the year before and 25.3% behind pre-pandemic April 2019”.
In what is traditionally a quieter month following the March plate change, volumes were also impacted by the late timing of Easter, resulting in fewer working days.
In addition, the implementation of VED changes affecting all new cars, including the Expensive Car Supplement which became applicable to many new EVs from April 1 , pushed transactions into March as shrewd buyers got ahead of the tax increases.
Plug-in vehicles take a fifth of UK new car market
In terms of powertrain performance, demand for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) fell 2.9%, with petrol and diesel registrations down 22.0% and 26.2% respectively.
Conversely, registrations of vehicles with a plug rose: plug-in hybrids (PHEV) up 34.1% and battery electric vehicles (BEV) increasing 8.1% to 24,558 units, taking more than a fifth (20.4%) of the market.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “April’s performance is disappointing but expected after March’s surge.
“Another month of growth for electric vehicle registrations is good news, however, even if demand remains well below ambition.
“Recent Government adjustments to flexibilities and compliance within the ZEV Mandate are welcome and an important first step in relieving some of the pressure on the market and manufacturers.
“However, EV uptake is still being heavily and unsustainably subsidised by the industry which is why a compelling package of measures from Government is essential if consumers are going to make the switch.”
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.
Market share expectations for new BEV registrations, meanwhile, remain fairly constant with only a marginal revision downward from the January view, by 0.2 percentage points to 23.5% for this year, and down by 0.3 percentage points to 28% next year, compared with the ZEV Mandate targets of 28% and 33% respectively.
Kia and Ford top the volume charts
