9:51 am, May 7, 2011
APRIL saw new car registrations fall by 7.4 per cent the latest figures published by the SMMT reveal.
The April new car market fell by 7.4 per cent to 137,746 units. This was the tenth successive decline in volumes.
The market was 1.5 per cent ahead of forecast and on par with the 2010 market with scrappage volumes removed.
Registrations over the first four months of 2011 were down 8.5 per cent to 696,082 units.
‘New car registrations in April demonstrated continued stability in the marketplace, with demand remaining lower than in 2010, although slightly ahead of industry expectations,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.
‘The coming months will remain challenging, but we do expect to see a return to growth in the second half of the year.’
Despite economic and supply chain uncertainty, SMMT’s full year forecast remains at 1.93m units.
