The figures released by the industry body have revealed that this is the lowest monthly rate of new car registrations since 1946, highlighting the impact of the coronavirus lockdown measures on the UK motor industry.

April’s figure marked a 97% drop in sales from the same period last year.

As part of the UK Government’s coronavirus lockdown measures, car dealerships were forced to close in an attempt to quell the spread of the virus and had a colossal impact on the number of cars which could be purchased across the country.

SMMT said that of those 4,000 registrations, 70% were by companies buying for their fleets. Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, told the BBC that those cars would most likely have been on order before the lockdown was instated.

He said: “If you are told to close all your car showrooms for the entirety of April it’s no surprise sales are almost non-existent.”

An SMMT spokesperson added that several of the 4,000 cars sold in April were needed to support key workers and for those who had a pressing need for them.

Those vehicles would not have been bought from dealerships, but instead, for example, from wholesalers, or directly from manufacturers.

SMMT said it now expects 1.68 million new car registrations this year, compared with 2.3 million last year.

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