New car registrations in the UK declined by 97.3% in April to just 4321 sales, due to the coronavirus lockdown. It was the fewest cars registered in a single month since 1946.
The bleak figures had been widely expected, with dealerships closed for the entire month and the British public instructed to stay at home except for essential reasons. Registrations had fallen by 44.4% year on year in March, despite lockdown restrictions being in place for only part of the month.
The UK car sales slump is similar to those experienced in other European countries that have also been under lockdown measures to combat the spread of Covid-19. Sales of new cars in April declined by 88.8% in France and 97.5% in Italy.
Even though they were expected, the figures still make for, in the words of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) boss Mike Hawes, “exceptionally grim reading”. So what lessons can be learned from them?
How Tesla topped the sales chart
The Tesla Model 3 was the UK’s best-selling car in April. But what would otherwise seem a stunning result could be considered as something of a pyrrhic victory: just 658 examples of the electric saloon were registered. Compare that with April 2019, when the Ford Fiesta topped the list with 5606 registrations.
But those 658 registrations meant that the Model 3 outsold the next two best-sellers combined. The Jaguar I-Pace was second, with 367 examples sold, ahead of the Vauxhall Corsa (264).
Tesla’s success was down to its online sales system, with buyers pre-ordering their cars. The company already had a direct delivery system in place for new models and, since the lockdown, has been able to introduce a contactless handover system. This was offered both with deliveries and at Tesla dealers, with all paperwork conducted through the company’s app and customers gaining access to cars through their smartphones.
The relative success of the Model 3 and I-Pace meant that EV sales fell only 9.7% year on year, whereas sales of all other powertrains fell by more than 97%.
Join the debate
Add your comment
I wonder if ConsumerSalesMonthly magazine.....
are writing similar articles wondering what lessons can be learned from the fact that in April there was a 10,000% increase in the sales of toilet paper, and a 10,000% drop in sales of travel insurance.....?!
So Mr Attwood in a year's time, the Fiesta won't be back as the best selling car and toilet roll will hardly be selling at all, because everyone has stockpiled so much?
You cannot learn anything useful from April's statistics, at a time of a temporary national emergency and a temporary total change in people's lifestyles, but as the last poster pointed out, Autocar are writing anything at the moment. Barrel scraping for something to write!
People need a poo...
...more than they need a new car.
Up down, Up down.
Do the staff at Autocar talk to each other? Two days ago it's news of the recently re-opened VW Wolfsburg factory having to suspend production again due to poor sales forecasts, next day we're being told there's going to be less discounts and waiting lists due to strong demand, and today it's SMMT downgrading forecasts.
I'm struggling to keep up with this.
Tesla done great.