Registrations for new cars were up 10% year-on-year in April, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have shown, totalling 167,911 vehicles.

The year-on-year jump was due to the introduction of higher vehicle excise duty (VED) in April 2017, which incentivised consumers to push forward the purchase of a new vehicle to March.

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Registrations for the year-to-date were still down 8.8%, to around 880,000 vehicles, in line with the ongoing decline from the last 12 months.
Demand for April was pushed by private buyers, which saw a 26.3% increase, while the fleet sector was stable, with a 0.9% increase.

The April increase was concentrated around petrol vehicles, which saw a 38.5% jump in registrations. Diesel vehicles fell almost 25%. The market share ratio was two petrol vehicles for every diesel vehicles.

Alternatively-fuelled vehicle (AFV) registrations rose surged 49.3%, thanks to the introduction of a wider range of models. AFV market share was 5.6%.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “It’s important not to look at one month in isolation and, given the major disruption to last April’s market caused by sweeping VED changes, this increase is not unexpected.

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“While the continuing growth in demand for plug-in and hybrid cars is positive news, the market share of these vehicles remains low and will do little to offset damaging declines elsewhere.

“Consumers need certainty about future policies towards different fuel types, including diesel, and a compelling package of incentives to deliver long-term confidence in the newest technologies.”

Richard Jones, managing director at Black Horse, said: “Whilst it’s reassuring for the industry to see sales recovering in April, this simply reflects a combination of the numbers correcting and better trading.

“Ongoing confusion around fuel choice remains a major concern though, with diesel sales continuing to fall … We need to help customers understand [that] for many drivers, diesel continues to be the best option, particularly given that the switch to electric vehicles remains several years away.”