If demand for car production in the UK is stuttering, no one seems to have told the biggest vendor in the new and used market.

Latest data today from the Society for Motor Manufactuters (SMMT) shows that UK car and commercial vehicle output took an 8.6% dent in April, while CV production saw a comparatively monumental 68.6% drop, the autosector trade body ascribing the constricted numbers at the factory gates to a later Easter, model changeovers and restructuring.

But the figures are in stark contrast to the annual books from AutoTrader, which has good reason to celebrate - not least its shareholders who have banked a £275m payout.

Just how bad was April for UK carmakers? If you wanted to see a worse monthly dataset, you'll need to go back to 2009. And if that number isn't sobering enough, overall vehicle output (excluding the Covid period) fell to the lowest level for the month since 1952.

Back then, the Morris Minor topped the sales charts and only one in 20 people actually owned a car, the cost of such a purchase equating to more than £57,000 in today's salary reach.

Within April's update, it is noted that car exports fell by 10.1% during April, largely for reasons which you can guess (the SMMT calls it "international trading uncertainty"). Again, new commercial units leaving the port fared even worse - transactions sliding down by an eye-watering 75.8%.

Searching for the positives in the month's report, the SMMT does, however, note that new and emerging trade deals with EU, US and India should opportunities for future growth, although the need for the UK to bolster its manufacturing competitiveness remains "urgent".

Homing in on where we are (or aren't) sending our product, shipments to the UK's two largest global markets, the EU and US, fell by 19.1% and 2.7% respectively, although the EU still took more than half of all exports while the US received 16.5%. Conversely, exports to China and Turkey rose by 44.0% and 31.2% respectively.

In terms of taking the export brunt for commercials (CVs), EU demand fell by just under 79%, though the region still took 84.9% of all our CV exports. Meanwhile, as a barometer for fleet and business demand for CVs back at home, production fell by 54.6% across the month.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said the figures again underlined the need for urgent government action both to boost domestic demand and our international competitiveness.

He said: "Government has recognised automotive manufacturing's critical role in driving the UK economy, having successfully negotiated improved trading conditions for the sector with the US, EU and India in the space of a month.

"To take advantage of these trading opportunities we must secure additional investment which will depend on the competitiveness and confidence that can be provided by a comprehensive and innovative long-term industrial strategy. Get this right and the jobs, economic growth and decarbonisation will flow across the UK."

In strong contrast to the SMMT's figures today, AutoTrader, which is the UK's biggest car sales platform, has revealed full year results (to the end of March 2025) which show business is ticking over very nicely - and a record number of buyers and sellers engaging with the site. The report underlines how the business is now more than 10 times bigger than its nearest competitor.

Headline achievements for the year show group revenue increased 5%, exceeding £600 million in the period. Group operating profit increased 8% and basic earnings per share increased 12%, with core AutoTrader revenue increasing to 7% and operating profit before Digital Services Tax also up, at 7%.

The impact of the UK's Digital Services Tax was recognised for the first time with a £10.2m charge to operating expenses in the year.

In sales activity, AutoTrader said retailer revenue grew at 7%, with the number of retailer forecourts increasing 2% year-on-year.

The report said: "Growth came from smaller retailers which had a dilutive impact on the calculation of Average Revenue Per Retailer ('ARPR') which, combined with fast speed of sale, resulted in an ARPR increase of 5% for the year."

How did AutorTrader get to such a good year? In part, it attributes the growth to investment in AI. The launch of Co-Driver sees a suite of AI-enabled features, which supports retailers to create high quality adverts more efficiently, while significantly improving the experience for car buyers, the firm said.

Additionally, Deal Builder enables car buyers to value their part-exchange, apply for finance and reserve a car and the tool had scaled to 2,000 retailers by the end of March 2025, alomost double the figure for March 2024.

The report added: "We have decided to make Deal Builder functionality part of our core advertising proposition. We believe this will accelerate retailer adoption, car buyer engagement and monetisation."

Looking at the market overall, demand for used cars is strong, with a record number of cross-platform visits and minutes spent on the site.

"As we have moved through the year, supply has remained constrained for vehicles aged 3 to 5 years old. This combination of high demand and restricted supply in key age cohorts has

led to cars selling at a faster rate than any time in our recent history."

In (literal) traffic, AutoTrader saw a 5% increase in the number of cars advertised through its platform, which was slightly higher than the increase in overall used car transactions: "Fast speed of sale has meant retailers have benefitted from increased utilisation of AutoTrader's slot-based advertising model. As a result, even though consumer and retailer activity have both increased, it has not directly benefited revenue."

Used car pricing was stable over the last 12 months, following declines in the previous financial year, while new car demand showed growth driven by the fleet channel: "This took share from the retail channel which declined 4% year-on-year. This calendar year new car sales are up 3% and retail volumes were the fastest growing channel growing 6%."

Looking ahead, the announcement UK/US trade deal and the government's plans to soften the Zero Emission Vehicle ('ZEV') mandate, has led AutoTrader to expect overall new car registration volumes to be well supported over the next two to three years, the report said.

It added: "We have returned £275.7m to shareholders (2024: £250.3m) through £187.3m of share buybacks and dividends of £88.4 million."

Nathan Coe, Chief Executive Officer of Auto Trader, said: "Despite broader macroeconomic uncertainties, the UK car market is in good health and we continue to deliver against our strategy to improve car buying and retailing."

He added: "We remain confident in the outlook for the business given our strong market position, the value we deliver for customers, and our unique data and technology capabilities."