April new car market beats 1989 record
- 208,976 registrations in April 2002, topped April 1989’s record of 191,276
units - This is the 19th month in a row of growth in the new car market
- Registrations to private buyers soared 24.5 per cent in April to 108,126
units - So far in 2002, the new car market is up nine per cent at 931,694 units
SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan said, ‘After 19 consecutive months
of growth, Britain has emerged as the second largest new car market in Europe.
This is the only country among the big five European markets which has seen
growth in 2002 and it comes on top of a huge sales surge last year. Although
the current rate of growth cannot last forever, with such a strong start to
the year, 2002 looks set to be one of the best-performing on record.’
Notes to editors:
- According to ACEA figures, for the first three months of 2002 European
new car registrations fell by 3.8 per cent. In Germany they fell by 4.3 per
cent, in Italy by 13 per cent, France by 2.6 per cent and Spain by 7.5 per
cent. During the same period, UK new registrations rose by 7.1 per cent. - In 2001, total new car registrations across Europe rose by just 0.7 per
cent. In the UK they were up 10.7 per cent. - SMMT predicts that a total of 2.4 million new cars will be registered in
the UK in 2002.
April 2002
The attached tables show the registration figures for Great Britain, Northern
Ireland, The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands in detail. Top performers by
range and UK penetration figures are also listed. Providing the SMMT is acknowledged
as the source of this information, the figures may be quoted. Substantial reproduction
needs specific approval by the SMMT.
