New car registrations in Britain fell 4 per cent in April on a year ago, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said today.
The drop was mainly due to the demise of MG Rover, which shut down production.
"April's dip has largely been dominated by MG Rover but it seems that the crisis has not had a significant effect on consumer confidence across the wider industry," said SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan.
Christopher Macgowan, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders chief executive
MG Rover, the 100-year old carmaker which once produced the Mini and Land Rover, went bankrupt last month after a deal with a Chinese company fell through.
Earlier this week a survey of manufacturers also highlighted its collapse as hitting orders. SMMT said registrations fell to 179,457 units.
That followed a 5.1 per cent annual drop in March to 442,940 and puts registrations down 6.6 per cent in the first four months of 2005. SMMT predicted registrations would total 2.45 million units by year-end, down on the 2.57 million units in 2004.
"Overall demand has weakened, partly due to exceptionally high figures last year, but also due to buyers' concerns over their income, debt and rising costs," SMMT said.