April new car registrations fall four per cent
- 179,457 new cars left showrooms last month, down 4.0 per cent on April 2004
- Diesel market rose 6.6 per cent in April, up 4.5 per cent over the year-to-date
‘On five of the last six occasions, new car registrations have received a boost immediately after a general election’, commented Christopher Macgowan, SMMT chief executive, ‘However, March figures showed that the market had already started to pick up after a disappointing start to the year. April’s dip has largely been dominated by MG Rover but it seems that the crisis has not had a significant effect on consumer confidence across the wider industry. The market remains healthy with registrations expected to hit 2.45 million units by the end of the year.’
