New vehicle sales slip 1.5% in April

New motor vehicle sales fell 1.5 per cent in April after rising 0.7 per cent in March, official figures show.

Passenger vehicle sales dropped 8.3 per cent to 41,194 last month, and sales of other types of vehicles fell 0.6 per cent to 19,468.

By contrast, sports utility vehicles rose a seasonally adjusted 7.4 per cent to 34,225, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics data out on Monday.

On a state-by-state basis, the ACT recorded the biggest fall in new vehicle sales (down 6.1 per cent), while sales rose most in the Northern Territory (up 3.2 per cent).

In the 12 months to April, new motor vehicle sales were up 2.8 per cent, to a total of 94,888.