New car registrations in Wales dipped by just under 3% to 6,535 in April.
Possibly reflecting uncertainty about the Welsh economy and buyers staying away from showrooms, the decrease contrasts with a 2% rise in the UK as a whole.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said it was the highest April total for 13 years, 189,505 cars were registered and the market growth was led by the fleet and business sectors, where respective increases of 6.1% and 2.8% counterbalanced a 2.5% fall in private registrations.
Demand for petrol and diesel models remains high. Registrations of petrol cars increased 3.4% in April, while diesel saw a slight 0.6% decline but hybrids and electric cars jumped nearly 27%.
Top ten in April were:
Wales | UK | |
Fiesta | Fiesta | |
Corsa | Golf | |
Focus | Focus | |
Sandero | Qashqai | |
Kuga | Astra | |
Mokka | Polo | |
Golf | Corsa | |
Astra | C-Class | |
Polo | Sportage | |
Qashqai | A3 |