The British public’s passion for cars looks to have returned after what has been described as one ‘darkest years in automotive’ history.

Latest figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has revealed an encouraging boost to new car registrations, a rise of more than 3,000% on the previous April.

Though the data is somewhat skewed by the fact that this time last year the country was deep into the most restricted parts of lockdown, and therefore no cars were sold at all, compated to the 141,583 which were shifted last month.

The positive news has seen the SMMT revise their forecast for annual registrations, with an expectation of 1.86m registrations, and the SMMT Chief Executive, Mike Hawes is encouraged by the market confidence.

He said: “After one of the darkest years in automotive history, there is light at the end of the tunnel. A full recovery for the sector is still some way off, but with showrooms open and consumers able to test drive the latest, cleanest models, the industry can begin to rebuild. Market confidence is improving, and we now expect to finish the year in a slightly better position than anticipated in February, largely thanks to the more upbeat business and consumer confidence created by the successful vaccine rollout. That confidence should also translate into another record year for electric vehicles, which will likely account for more than one in seven new car registrations.”

The SMMT data also showed that the interest in electric vehicles continues, with one in seven vehicles sold in 2021 being an EV.

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