Britain’s new car sales slump to record levels amid COVID-19 lockdown

New cars sales in the United Kingdom fell by nearly 97% in April to the lowest since February 1946. The slump comes as factories and dealerships close down amid the COVID-19 outbreak, preliminary data from an industry body showed.

The lockdown measures that have been implemented across Europe since mid-March had restricted travel and crippled many businesses.

Around 4,000 new registrations were made last month with most of the sales being fleet purchases, according to preliminary data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

In February 1946, only 4,044 new cars had been sold in the UK. This was just a few months after the Second World War when Britain was still recovering under its first majority Labour government.

Britain has further lowered its full-year forecast to 1.68 million new registrations in contrast to the 2.31 million from 2019.

The SMMT will release its final data at 0800 GMT on Tuesday.