CAR DEALER and hotel owner Bill Cullen will likely look for a protegé with strong sales skills when he becomes the boss on the Irish version of hit TV show The Apprenticeon TV3 this autumn. The motor trade is facing a very difficult year for new sales.

Cullen is taking the role of Amstrad boss Sir Alan Sugar in the British version of the reality TV show. He will adopt the "You're fired!" catch phrase this autumn when dismissing a candidate every week, until he finds his winning candidate from 14 hopefuls.

The show's sponsor is Irish Life Permanent subsidiary Blue Cube Loans, a personal loan provider, which is spending €250,000 on the programme.

Cullen said the economic slowdown could bring out the best in young entrepreneurs. "When there's a downturn, that's when you see how good people can be."

The motor industry will present quite a test.

Car dealers grimace when discussing this year's performance in the trade. New car sales fell 15.5 per cent for the first five months with sales in May down almost 51 per cent on the same month last year.

Most dealers have written off the remainder of this year for new sales due to the changes in vehicle registration tax (VRT) from July 1st.

Buyers are delaying purchases, believing that some models will fall in price under the new system. Many will wait for a 09 reg plate. New car sales are expected to be down 7-10 per cent this year.

Cullen's role in the motor trade has also changed dramatically since Renault said "T'es viré!" last July on his exclusive distribution deal on the French marque in Ireland. The company announced that, from 2009, it would be selling Renaults directly to Irish customers, cutting out the middle man (Cullen).

Cullen's company, Glencullen, made a loss of €3.6 million in 2006, compared with a profit of €4.6 million the previous year, as strong competition took its toll. Glencullen still had €33 million in retained profits in 2006 from which Cullen can pay his apprentice their winning salary of €100,000.

They'll earn every cent of it working in the rapidly changing motor industry.