Scottish motor buyers take foot off the gas

Latest trade figures have revealed that new car sales stalled in Scotland last month as the market “cooled off” across all regions.

Data supplied by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed 14,619 units were registered north of the border in April – representing a more than 5 per cent drop on the same period last year.

The Scottish Motor Trade Association (SMTA) said the figures may have been distorted by “tactical registrations by certain manufacturers”.

SMTA chief executive Sandy Burgess said: “Unusually we have experienced a cooling-off in all regions, which is something we have not seen for many years.

“The reductions however are in most cases minimal, with Lothian recording a 0.7 per cent drop whilst Central lost the most ground with a 13.66 per cent fall-off.

“Despite this we are still up almost 1 per cent on 2015 numbers, whereas the rest of the UK has reported a growth of 4.55 per cent year to date.”

He added: “There continues to be a degree of tactical registrations by certain manufacturers which can distort the market reporting, and the impact of such actions can reflect more when comparing our predominantly retail market to the rest of the UK which is more fleet-driven.

“Footfall has tailed off in recent weeks which we would suggest is understandable given the activity levels of hopeful politicians seeking to gain entry to Holyrood.

“Now that this situation has been resolved we anticipate some degree of normality returning to the market, recognising that we do however have another EU referendum on the horizon.”

Key headlines from latest SMMT data: