Car registrations dive in April

Motor vehicle registrations fell by 5.8% year on year in April, to 4,245, compared with 4,507 in the same period of 2004.

This comes after a 6.2% year on year rise in the first quarter of 2005.

Registrations of private saloon cars fell by 5.2% to 6,152, while registrations of light goods vehicles tumbled by 26% to 247.

In 2004 as a whole, total car registrations had risen by 33.9% on the back of a steep cut in the prices of many cars, particularly saloons.

The impact of that big reduction appears to be finally falling out of the index.