UK car sales up 11.6pc in April

That is up 11.6 per cent year-on-year but remains 17.4 per cent down on the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.

The total number of new cars registered during the first four months of this year was up 16.9 per cent compared with the same period in 2022.

That has caused the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders to upgrade its annual forecast for total registrations to 1.83 million, an increase from 1.79m previously.

Luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover, which has its engine manufacturing centre at Wolverhampton's i54, saw sales down on 2022 in April.

Land Rover was 10.9 per cent lower at 4,030 cars with Jaguar falling 38.1 per cent to 692.

MG, which has its head office at Longbridge but has its cars made overseas, was up 85.4 per cent to 5,034.

The top selling brand in the UK was Volkswagen – up 60.7 per cent at 11,758. Top-selling car in April was the Ford Puma at 3,570.

Expectations for the growth in demand of pure electric new cars have been downgraded.

The SMMT said it predicts the vehicles will make up 18.4 per cent of new car registrations this year, down from 19.7 per cent in a forecast issued in January.

This is due to "high energy costs and insufficient charging infrastructure" which is "anticipated to soften demand", according to the SMMT.

Estimates of next year's market share for pure electric new cars have also been revised downwards, from 23.3 per cent to 22.6 per cent.

Sales of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the UK from 2030.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "The new car market is increasingly bullish, as easing supply chain pressures provide a much-needed boost.

"However, the broader economic conditions and chargepoint anxiety are beginning to cast a cloud over the market's eagerness to adopt zero emission mobility at the scale and pace needed.

"To ensure all drivers can benefit from electric vehicles, we need everyone - Government, local authorities, energy companies and charging providers - to accelerate their investment in the transition and bolster consumer confidence in making the switch."

Ian Plummer, commercial director at online vehicle marketplace Auto Trader, said: "Rising new car sales for a ninth month in a row represent a healthier economic picture than feared a few months back, which is good for the market.

"Consumer demand is strong but the softening of the SMMT's forecasts on electric vehicle sales offers some cause for concern.

"This underlines our recent call for measures needed to support the EV market, such as cutting VAT on public chargers."

Mark Oakley, director of AA Cars, said: “After nine straight months of accelerating sales figures, the new car market’s extraordinary recovery still has more miles left in the tank.

“Thousands of buyers visited forecourts in March, keen to snap up a car with one of the first new registration plates of 2023, and this momentum continued into April as dealers raced to complete customers’ orders.

“EV sales go from strength to strength, even if their market share is levelling off."

John Wilmot, chief executive of car leasing comparison website LeaseLoco, said: “Although new car sales are still well below pre-pandemic levels, a ninth consecutive month of growth is starting to feel like an upward trend that has some momentum behind it.

“Growth is still likely to remain steady rather than spectacular over the coming months, while high inflation and the cost of living crisis weighs on consumer confidence.

“Buyers are tentatively returning to the new car market rather than rushing to the showrooms."