LONDON, May 5 (Xinhua) -- New car registration in Britain saw around 30-fold increase in April year-on-year as showrooms reopened, but volumes still remained 12.9 percent lower than the 10-year average, according to a report released Wednesday.

In April, 141,583 new cars were registered, significantly higher than units seen in April 2020 when the first national lockdown was launched across the country, the British Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said in the report.

"After one of the darkest years in automotive history, there is light at the end of the tunnel," said Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT.

As of April, the overall registrations for 2021 stood at 567,108 units, some 32.5 percent lower than the average level over the past decade, figures showed.

"The full impact of showrooms reopening has yet to be realised, given the delay between a customer initially visiting a dealership, deciding on a model and then taking delivery of that new vehicle is normally a number of weeks," added the SMMT.

Given the vaccine rollout and easing of lockdown restrictions, the trade body revised its forecasts upwards for new car registration from 1.83 million to around 1.86 million by the end of the year, a 13.9 percent growth on 2020.

"A full recovery for the sector is still some way off, but with showrooms open and consumers able to test drive the latest, cleanest models, the industry can begin to rebuild," said Hawes, adding that market confidence is improving.

In England, all shops reopened from April 12 as lockdown eased, along with hairdressers, beauty salons and other close-contact services.

The British government's four-step lockdown exit plan is expected to see all legal restrictions in England being removed by mid-June.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. Enditem

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