UK car sales tumble 19.8% in April after excise duty changes, rise 1.1% year-to-date
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on May 4, UK car sales fell 19.8% to 152,076 units as the market responded to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) changes with an increased number of purchases prior to April 1.
Year-to-date sales remained strong, up 1.1%, with a record 972,092 cars registered in the first four months of 2017.
April sales for Ford fell 30.6% to 16,183 units (10.6% market share) and Volkswagen sales fell 41.0% to 9,954 units (6.5% share), while GM Vauxhall sales fell 33.1% to 10,732 units (7.1% share).
BMW sales in April increased 2.7% to 11,277 units (7.4% share) and Mercedes-Benz sales increased 10.5% to 13,345 units (8.8% share).
Of the five most popular vehicles in April, 4,957 Ford Fiesta; 4,430 Nissan Qashqai; 3,777 Mercedes-Benz C-Class; 3,608 Mercedes-Benz A-Class; and 3,421 Ford Focus vehicles were sold.
Compared to last April, diesel-engine car sales decreased 27.3% to 68,306 units (44.9% share), gasoline-engine car sales decreased 13.1% to 77,497 units (51.0% share), and alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) sales decreased 1.3% to 6,273 units (4.1% share).
In April, private car sales decreased 28.4% to 59,912 units (39.4% share), fleet sales decreased 12.3% to 86,678 units (57.0% share), and sales to businesses decreased 21.0% to 5,486 units (3.6% share).
Light commercial vehicles (LCV) sales of 22,625 units in April 2017 represented an 18.8% decrease from April 2016 sales.
Sales of commercial vehicles between 2.5 and 3.5 tons decreased 23.1% this April to 13,583 units.
Sales of commercial vehicles between 3.5 and 6.0 tons decreased 6.4% to 612 units in April.