UK Car Sales Drop 10.4% In April As Higher Taxes Hurt - SMMT

(RTTNews) - New car registrations in the U.K. decreased in April mainly due to customers making purchases early to avoid higher taxes that came into effect at the start of the month, though electric car sales continued to increase, monthly data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed on Tuesday.

New car sales fell 10.4 percent year-on-year in April to 120,331 units, the SMMT said. Registrations decreased for the sixth time in the last seven months, reflecting a fragile economic backdrop and weakened consumer confidence, the industry body added.

New car registrations were 13,943 fewer in the month compared with the year before and 25.3 percent behind pre-pandemic April 2019.

Meanwhile, battery car registrations grew 8.1 percent, claiming 20.4 percent market share, which was still markedly below the zero-emission vehicle mandate requirement, the SMMT said.

Sales volumes were also impacted by the late timing of Easter, resulting in fewer working days, the SMMT said.

Further, the implementation of vehicle excise duty changes affecting all new cars, including the Expensive Car Supplement which became applicable to many new EVs from April 1, forced buyers to make purchases in March to avoid the tax increases.

"April's performance is disappointing but expected after March's surge," SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said.

"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," Hawes observed.

"However, EV uptake is still being heavily and unsustainably subsidized by the industry which is why a compelling package of measures from government is essential if consumers are going to make the switch," Hawes added.

The SMMT revised up the full year 2025 new car registrations forecast to 1.964 million units but retained the 2026 expectations below the two million mark for the seventh successive year.

Market share expectations for new BEV registrations, were trimmed by 0.2 percentage points to 23.5 percent for this year, and by 0.3 percentage points to 28 percent next year, compared with the ZEV Mandate targets of 28 percent and 33 percent, respectively.