New car sales in Northern Ireland continued to recover in April according to industry data.
Figures from the Association of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show there were 3,432 sales, up 6.8% from the same month in 2022.
So far this year 16,750 new cars have been sold in Northern Ireland, up 17.4% compared to the same period last year.
The most popular models this year are Hyundai Tucson, Ford’s Fiesta and Puma.
In the past two years, the new car market has been hit hard by supply chain problems, which has delayed vehicle delivery.
There have been particularly serious problems with obtaining semiconductors, which are used in a wide range of electronic systems, from in-car entertainment to engine management.
In the UK as a whole, April was the ninth consecutive month of growth, with an increase of 11.6% to 132,990 registrations.
However, this was still 17.4% down from pre-pandemic volumes in April 2019.
The new-vehicle market is “increasingly bullish, with supply chain easing providing a much-needed boost,” said SMMT CEO Mike Howes.