New Car Registrations See Dramatic Decrease

New car registrations drop like a stone in April

Latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) underline the devastation that Covid-19 has wreaked on the UK motor manufacturing sector.

UK registrations for private cars (as opposed to business and fleet) fell 98.7% from 67,873 in April 2019 to 871 in April 2020. And most of those 871 will have been cars ordered prior to lock-down, so it is likely that no more than a handful of cars will have been sold in April to private buyers.

Overall, there were 4,321 car registrations in April, down from 161, 064 in April 2020. On the year to date registrations, overall car sales have fallen by 43% compared to the same period in 2019.

Car dealers are closed to the public under the Covid-19 regulations passed by government, and while the government is currently working through plans to start lifting restrictions, the chances of a sudden upsurge in car buying seem remote.

The message for members is clear. The scope for credit hire customers being able to replace their vehicles for a new one during lockdown is slim to non-existent. These figures, from the SMMT, are useful evidence to use to put insurers in the picture if you are asked why your customers need to stay on hire if their own vehicle has been written off. At the moment, getting a new car is almost impossible.

A link to the SMMT website, giving the full picture, is here.