The UK new car market declined in March, according to figures released today, with registrations falling 15.7 per cent compared with the same month last year.

The figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that March was the 12th consecutive month which saw a decline in new car sales.

But it's not all bad news - March 2017 was the biggest month ever for new car registrations, as buyers seized the chance to purchase cars before new Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates came into force in April last year. And registrations are still running at a historically high level and last month's market was the fourth biggest March on record.

Demand from business, fleet and private buyers all fell in March, down 14.3 per cent, 15 per cent and 16.5 per cent respectively.

Continuing the recent trend, diesel registrations declined in March, down 37.2 per cent. Registrations of plug-in and hybrid vehicles continued to rise, up 5.7 per cent, with demand for plug-in hybrids driving growth, up 18.2 per cent for the month. Registrations of petrol cars were fairly stable, up 0.5 per cent.

Despite the decline, nearly 720,000 new high-tech, low-emission cars left forecourts in the first quarter of 2018 as consumers took advantage of competitive offers.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: "Consumer and business confidence has taken a knock in recent months and a thriving new car market is essential to the overall health of our economy.

"This means creating the right economic conditions for all types of consumers to have the confidence to buy new vehicles. All technologies, regardless of fuel type, have a role to play in helping improve air quality whilst meeting our climate change targets, so government must do more to encourage consumers to buy new vehicles rather than hang onto their older, more polluting vehicles."

Punchline says: "Hopefully this is just a blip. Any downturn in new car sales is bad news for firms that rely on the motor industry. There are small companies across the county that are sub-contracted to work across the sector. A fall in sales would have a serious affect on their bottom line. They are the first to feel the pain when the industry catches a cold."

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