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New car registrations almost stopped in April after coronavirus blocking measures were introduced, the auto industry said.
Preliminary figures from the industrial body SMMT indicate a 97% drop compared to last year.
Only around 4,000 cars were registered, mainly for company use.
The temporary closure of car dealerships as part of measures to try to combat the disease strongly affected consumer records.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that of those 4,000 registrations, 70% were from companies that bought for their fleets.
Many of those cars were needed to support key workers and those who urgently needed them, an SMMT spokesperson said.
Those cars would not have been purchased from dealers, but, for example, from wholesalers or directly from manufacturers.
The 4,000 figure for April is a big drop from the 161,064 new cars that were registered in April 2019.
The industry body said it now expects 1.68 million new car registrations in 2020 compared to 2.3 million in 2019.
The coronavirus crisis has come at a time when it was already a difficult time for the motor industry, which had been struggling with falling sales and collapsing demand for diesel vehicles, as it struggled to meet new emissions targets.
The figures are certainly dramatic, they are expected to be the lowest sales since February 1946.
But since virtually the entire motor industry came to a halt when the lock was introduced, they are not entirely unexpected.
What matters now is what happens when restrictions are eased and customers are allowed to return to showrooms.
Hopefully, there will be pent-up demand: After all, dealerships began closing in mid-March, traditionally one of the strongest months of the year for new car sales.
Since then, however, harsh economic realities have come into play. Huge sectors of the workforce have been suspended, and signs indicate that the country is in a deep recession.
In those circumstances, with so much uncertainty and so many jobs at risk, how many people will really be willing to buy a new car?
We can expect a wave of incentive programs, and possibly a wave of new scrapping schemes, as auto companies begin to fight tooth and nail for every sale.
The coronavirus outbreak also halted automobile production.
All major UK car factories suspended work in March, and it is still unclear when they will reopen.
Ian Plummer, commercial director for online marketplace Auto Trader, said: “With retailers forced to close the doors of their physical yards, it will come as no surprise to anyone to see how dramatic the impact has been on the new car market.”
“Some brands have been able to sell remotely, but uncertainty in government guidelines or a lack of the infrastructure required to operate home delivery safely has limited everyone but a handful of retailers.”
However, he said Auto Trader data indicated that the market had stopped, rather than stopped.
He added that there would be a possibility “for the industry to accelerate the adoption of low-emission vehicles” when the restrictions are lifted.
“However, it will be essential that manufacturers introduce more electric vehicles into their UK networks along with greater financial incentives,” such as scrapping schemes, he said.
