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New car sales fell by a tenth in April as DOUBLED car tax rates hit buyers.

•  April new car registrations fell by 10.4% as Chancellor's hiked VED rates kick in

By FREDA LEWIS-STEMPEL

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Updated: 14:05, 6 May 2025

New car sales took a tumble in April, as buyers avoided being stung by high new car tax rates introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves at the start of the month.

The market declined 10.4 per cent, with just over 120,000 new cars registered in April, the latest industry figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show.

It is a sixth month out of the last seven in which annual sales have fallen, which the SMMT says reflects a 'fragile economic backdrop' and 'weakened consumer confidence'.

There were 13,943 fewer cars registered in April 2025 compared with the year before. 

Notably, sales are down by a quarter (25.3 per cent) on pre-pandemic April 2019 registrations, the trade body confirmed. 

Demand for new cars took a major hit because 1 April saw the introduction of doubled first-year 'showroom tax' Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates - the biggest shake-up to car tax in almost a decade.

The Chancellor's tax raid on motorists sees EV owners having to VED for the first time ever - while buyers of brand new electric cars costing over £40,000 also incur a £425-a-year expensive car supplement (ECS) levied over a five-year period. DM.