Rise and rise of Scottish new car sales finally hits the brakes

New car sales in Scotland dipped three per cent in last month ending more than two years of near continuous growth, according to latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The SMMT had reported “record” new car sales in Scotland in March but a total of only 15,401 new vehicles were registered in Scotland in April, down 3.09 per cent on the 15,892 new registrations in April 2014.

The Scottish figures compare with growth of 5.87 per cent recorded for the remainder of the UK – excluding Scotland – which recorded 170,377 new vehicles registered in April, up from 160,928 last year.

Figures for the UK as a whole show growth of 5.07 per cent in April to 185,778 vehicles registered.

Of the nine Scottish regions Central recorded the highest growth rate in sales, up 20.4 per cent to 1,091 vehicles.

Sales were also up in Borders, Highlands and Lothian.

However, sales were down 4.84 per cent in Strathclyde, the largest Scottish region in sales volume terms, and sales were also down in Dumfries & Galloway, Fife, Grampian and Tayside.

Overall, sales in Scotland for the first four months of 2015 are up 1.59 per cent on the same period a year ago at 78,530 to the end of April.

This compares with growth of 6.88 per cent recorded for the remainder of UK – excluding Scotland – in the first four months compared with last year.

Commenting on the April sales figures for Scotland, SMTA chief Douglas Robertson, said: “Obviously we are a little disappointed to see a reduction; however bearing in mind that March was a record month for Scotland we should not be too surprised.

“We have been saying for some months that we were expecting a levelling out of the market through 2015 so perhaps this is the start.”

“We have been advised, however, by our member dealers that there remains a high level of activity in showrooms and we will continue to anticipate satisfactory figures for the remainder of the year and for as long as the excellent finance deals now available remain on the market.”

The best-selling model in Scotland last month was the Ford Fiesta – which also topped the UK table – followed by Vauxhall’s Corsa and the Volkswagen Polo.