THE new car market in Northern Ireland has grown again, with 3,432 first-time registrations in April.
That's up 6.8 per cent on the same month last year, when 3,212 vehicles left showrooms.
And while the figure is up 17.4 per cent year-on-year at this stage, with 16,750 new cars being sold, the market is still down on the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
The Hyundai Tucson and Ford's Fiesta and Puma remain most popular models locally.
In the UK as a whole, the market has grown for nine consecutive months, with 132,99 new cars registered in April.
The total number of new cars registered up to the end of April was up 16.9 per cent compared with the same period in 2022.
That has led to automotive industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which compiles the figures, to upgrade its annual forecast for total UK registrations to 1.83 million, an increase from 1.79 million previously.
But expectations for the growth in demand of pure electric new cars have been downgraded.
SMMT predicts that EVs will make up 18.4 per cent of new car registrations this year, down from 19.7 per cent in a forecast issued in January.
It said this is due to "high energy costs and insufficient charging infrastructure" which is "anticipated to soften demand".
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "The new car market is increasingly bullish, as easing supply chain pressures provide a much-needed boost.
"But the broader economic conditions and charge-point anxiety are beginning to cast a cloud over the market's eagerness to adopt zero emission mobility at the scale and pace needed.
"To ensure all drivers can benefit from electric vehicles, we need everyone - government, local authorities, energy companies and charging providers - to accelerate their investment in the transition and bolster consumer confidence in making the switch."
Separate Department for Transport figures released on Thursday show there were 40,150 public EV charging devices in the UK as of April 1, an increase of 9,860.
The government's target is for the total to reach 300,000 by 2030.
