UK New Car Sales Keep Growing for 9th Consecutive Month in April

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said on May 4 that while the overall outlook for new car registrations in the UK is set to improve, sales of pure electric vehicles in 2023 are expected to be hit by inflationary pressures and a shortage of charging facilities, so the SMMT has revised its forecast for the share of pure electric vehicles in UK new car sales down from its previous estimate of 19.7% to 18.4%.
Despite the SMMT's lowered outlook for UK pure electric vehicle sales, the segment still delivered a strong performance in April, with UK deliveries of pure electric vehicles surging by more than half year-on-year to 20,522 units in April, jumping to 15.4% market share from 10.8% a year earlier.
In a statement, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said that wider economic downturn conditions and charging anxiety started to overshadow the UK electric vehicle market, which is struggling to spread zero-emission vehicles at the scale and speed required.
Industry figures released by the SMMT show that new car registrations in the UK rose for the ninth consecutive month in April this year, up 11.6% to 132,990 units compared to the same month last year. Hawes said the new car market would continue to be increasingly bullish as supply pressures eased, providing a much-needed boost to new car sales.