This year, more new vehicles were sold in April than in any other year, with sales up 8.3% over the first four months of 2021 compared with the same period in 2018 – the previous record.

The numbers came in part as shipments delayed by Covid-19 arrived and deliveries caught up, with both passenger and commercial sales higher.

The nation’s favourite light-commercial vehicle in the year- to-end April was Toyota’s Hilux (3351 units), followed by Ford’s Ranger (3348) and Mitsubishi’s Triton (1941 – just 41 behind the top-selling passenger car). Toyota’s Hiace was the top-selling van in the same period (650 units), followed by Hyundai’s iLoad and Ford’s Transit.