FOREX TradingCharts.com

Financial News: UK Car Sales Drop 10.4% In April As

UK Car Sales Drop 10.4% In April As Higher Taxes Hurt - SMMT

05/06/2025 - 10:50:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - New car registrations in the U.K. decreased in April mainly due to customers making purchases early to avoid higher taxes that came into effect at the start of the month, though electric car sales continued to increase, monthly data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed on Tuesday.

New car sales fell 10.4 percent year-on-year in April to 120,331 units, the SMMT said. Registrations decreased for the sixth time in the last seven months, reflecting a fragile economic backdrop and weakened consumer confidence, the industry body added.

New car registrations were 13,943 fewer in the month compared with the year before and 25.3 percent behind pre-pandemic April 2019.

Meanwhile, battery car registrations grew 8.1 percent, claiming 20.4 percent market share, which was still markedly below the zero-emission vehicle mandate requirement, the SMMT said.

Sales volumes were also impacted by the late timing of Easter, resulting in fewer working days, the SMMT said.

Further, the implementation of vehicle excise duty changes affecting all new cars, including the Expensive Car Supplement which became applicable to many new EVs from April 1, forced buyers to make purchases in March to avoid the tax increases.

"April's performance is disappointing but expected after March's surge," SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said.

"Recent government adjustments to flexibilities and compliance within the ZEV Mandate are welcome and an important first step in relieving some of the pressure on the market and manufacturers," Hawes observed.

"However, EV uptake is still being heavily and unsustainably subsidized by the industry which is why a compelling package of measures from government is essential if consumers are going to make the switch," Hawes added.

The SMMT revised up the full year 2025 new car registrations forecast to 1.964 million units but retained the 2026 expectations below the two million mark for the seventh successive year.

Market share expectations for new BEV registrations, were trimmed by 0.2 percentage points to 23.5 percent for this year, and by 0.3 percentage points to 28 percent next year, compared with the ZEV Mandate targets of 28 percent and 33 percent, respectively.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved

Market News provided by RTTNews

RECENT INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL NEWS


Ten-Year Note Auction Attracts Slightly Above Average Demand (02 hr(s), 07 min(s), 42 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - The Treasury Department announced the results of this month's auction of $42 billi ...Full Story»

UK Car Sales Drop 10.4% In April As Higher Taxes Hurt - SMMT (04 hr(s), 45 min(s), 42 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - New car registrations in the U.K. decreased in April mainly due to customers making pu ...Full Story»

U.S. Trade Deficit Spikes To Record High In March As Import Surge (05 hr(s), 32 min(s), 42 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - The U.S. trade deficit spiked by much more than expected in the month of March, accord ...Full Story»

UK Service Sector Slips Into Contraction (06 hr(s), 16 min(s), 42 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - The UK service sector contracted in April for the first time since October 2023, refle ...Full Story»

Eurozone Private Sector Growth Eases On Weaker Demand (06 hr(s), 35 min(s), 42 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Euro area private sector growth weakened in April as soft demand conditions limited th ...Full Story»

U.S. Trade Deficit Surges Much More Than Expected In March (06 hr(s), 59 min(s), 42 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - The U.S. trade deficit spiked by much more than expected in the month of March, accord ...Full Story»

Eurozone Producer Prices Fall For First Time In 6 Months (09 hr(s), 04 min(s), 42 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Eurozone producer prices declined for the first time in six months in March due to the ...Full Story»

Spain Unemployment Declines Sharply (10 hr(s), 12 min(s), 42 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Spain's unemployment declined at a sharper-than-expected pace in April, data from ...Full Story»

Search

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL NEWS

Ten-Year Note Auction Attracts Slightly Above Average Demand

05/06/2025 - 13:28 PM (RTTNews)
(RTTNews) - The Treasury Department announced the results of this month's auction of $42 billi ...Full Story>>

UK Car Sales Drop 10.4% In April As Higher Taxes Hurt - SMMT

05/06/2025 - 10:50 AM (RTTNews)
(RTTNews) - New car registrations in the U.K. decreased in April mainly due to customers making pu ...Full Story>>

U.S. Trade Deficit Spikes To Record High In March As Import Surge

05/06/2025 - 10:03 AM (RTTNews)
(RTTNews) - The U.S. trade deficit spiked by much more than expected in the month of March, accord ...Full Story>>

UK Service Sector Slips Into Contraction

05/06/2025 - 09:19 AM (RTTNews)
(RTTNews) - The UK service sector contracted in April for the first time since October 2023, refle ...Full Story>>

Eurozone Private Sector Growth Eases On Weaker Demand

05/06/2025 - 09:00 AM (RTTNews)
(RTTNews) - Euro area private sector growth weakened in April as soft demand conditions limited th ...Full Story>>

Do not sell my personal information

Copyright © 2025. All market data is provided by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided "as is" and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice. To see all exchange delays and terms of use, please see disclaimer.