Automotive News – Late April 2026

Car production stabilises but outlook still challenging.

• UK vehicle production falls -8.2% in March, with 72,511 units leaving factories.
• Car output steady, down just -0.8%, while CV volumes drop -68.3%.
• Car production for domestic market grows, as exports decline despite EU demand rising.
• Sector calls for urgent amendment to EU Industrial Accelerator Act to include the UK as a trusted trading partner.

Sourced from SMMT

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Market decline continues but zero emission bus uptake reaches record market share.

• New bus, coach and minibus market falls -37.7% in Q1 2026 with 1,578 units reaching the road.
• Decline driven primarily by a -56.0% fall in minibus uptake, with single- and double-deck markets also diminishing.
• Zero emission bus volumes fall but market share reaches a record high of 37.3%.

Sourced from SMMT

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HGV market dips in Q1 as zero emission uptake falls.

• New heavy goods vehicle registrations down -2.7% to 9,471 units in first three months of 2026.
• Decline driven by lower-volume segments despite growth in tractor, tipper and refuse vehicles.
• Zero emission rollout falls -16.5% to represent less than one percent of the new HGV market.

Sourced from SMMT

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One in 22 vehicles now zero emission as UK fleet reaches record high​.

• Record 42.55m vehicles on UK roads in 2025, as volumes rise 1.4%, with cars also up 1.4% to 36.68m units.
• One in 22 vehicles in use now zero emission, at 1.9m, and one in nine electrified, at 4.6m.
• Average car fleet CO2 emissions down -2.9% as expanding ZEV model choice plus lower-emission hybrids and conventionally fuelled vehicles replace older, typically ICE, units.
• Fleet renewal slows further with record 45.7% of car parc aged over 10 years and average car at new high of 9.7 years.

Sourced from SMMT

Aston Martin has reported pre-tax losses in the first quarter but confirmed it remains on track to deliver a “material improvement” in full-year financial performance, boosted by Valhalla hypercar deliveries and ongoing transformation benefits.

Total wholesale volumes for the Gaydon-based luxury carmaker slipped 1% lower from the same period last year, to 939 units, in the three months to 31 March. However total revenue rose 16% to £270.4m, boosted by 102 Valhalla units delivered during the quarter.

Gross margin rose to 34.7% from 27.9% in the previous year, while adjusted EBITDA shot up to £23.2m, compared with a £4.4m loss in the same period in 2025.

Sourced from The Business Desk