New car sales in the UK got a major boost in April as dealerships were able to reopen and welcome customers back through the doors again for the first time in months.
In total, 141,583 new cars were registered in April, a substantial increase on the same period last year when only 4,321 cars were registered as many dealerships were forced to fully close during the first national lockdown.
Whilst dealerships and customers had adapted to new ways of purchasing such as through click and collect services, it has been described as a “light at the end of a tunnel” by Mike Hawes who is the Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Petrol cars accounted for just over 50% of all registrations with alternatively fuelled cars such as hybrids and electric vehicles now accounting for almost 40% of new car registrations.
The Vauxhall Corsa was the UK’s best selling new car, followed by the Mercedes Benz A Class and the Ford Fiesta.
Improving economic outlook
It’s also good news for used cars with the reopening of showrooms on the 12th of April driving strong demand for used vehicles with Stuart Pearson from British Car Auctions (BCA) commenting: “The lifting of some Lockdown restrictions, the continued good news about the vaccination rollout, and the cautiously improving economic outlook has generated a lot of positivity in the used vehicle sector.”
What about in our region?
The Cumbrian market has picked up very strongly as well, and despite the introduction of click and collect services, buyers have flooded back to showrooms.
Declan Ramsay from DSR Car Sales in Carlisle said: “Since the reopening of showrooms, we’ve had a really high level of enquiries and sales with demand for good quality used cars being much higher than expected. Even though people had adapted to online sales, nothing compares to being able to come and view a car in person” and Chris Robinson from Simple Car Sales in Kendal also commented that: “Since the easing of restrictions, we’ve seen an unprecedented demand, with many customers wishing to spend their money locally supporting their communities which is ideal for us as we are a local business and love dealing locally.”
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