The motor trade is revising its sales forecasts for the year after the expected strong bounce-back in new registrations over the last month.In a month in which showrooms were open for the first time
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More than half a million ultra low emission vehicles are now being driven on the streets of the UK.
The latest report by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) says almost one-in-seven new vehicles sold this year have a plug.
Figures show ultra low emission cars accounted for more than one-in-ten sales last year, up from one in thirty the year before.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “As hosts of COP26, we want to drive decarbonisation on the global stage, which is why we are going further and faster to make the journeys of our future as clean as possible.
Click the thumbs up >The Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) market delivered record registrations in April as businesses expressed their confidence in the COVID-19 recovery in new vehicle acquisitions.
A total of 30,440 new vans were registered last month, the highest-ever total for the month since records began, according to data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The figure put registrations well ahead of the five-year average, with April 2021 up by 23.2%.
But, despite the dramatic uptick, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes and National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) chief executive, Sue Robinson, both expressed concerns about the impact of a global semiconductor microchips on the ongoing recovery.
UK sales rise 30-fold in April from last year s lockdown low
Industry association SMMT revises upward its full-year forecast
Staff report
Bloomberg
British new car sales rose by more than 3,000 percent in April as the reopening of dealerships in England helped to boost figures compared to the same time last year when the first lockdown almost completely wiped out volumes.
Registrations were141,583 vehicles, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), up from just 4,321 in April 2020, which was the lowest level of any month since February 1946 as plants and showrooms shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The company car market is predicted to grow significantly after new research reported a three-fold increase in drivers wanting to source their next vehicle through their employer.
The findings, from the OC&C Speedo meter ‘Battery Late Than Never’ report, also suggest that Covid-19 has helped cement the importance of a car, despite people driving less.
More than two-in-five drivers (42%) said the pandemic has increased their belief that a car is essential. It is not just drivers who see the car as essential either – the number of non-drivers who expect to own in the future has risen by 21% in the UK.