New car sales plunge by over 20 percent

As the current economic downturn brings together falling consumer confidence levels and heightened insecurity, the motor industry has borne the brunt of the downturn.

The latest figures produced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that car sales are down by 22 percent from last year.

New car registrations in February were 54,359, down from 69,610 the year before, which in part has resulted in many of the main car producers to have to make both production and job cuts in order to stay afloat.

With General Motors Europe announcing that the group is running out of cash, Paul Everitt, the SMMT chief executive, has said that it is imperative that the UK government increases the help available to the industry by making finance and credit more readily available.

The main focus is on making sure that no further jobs are lost if that can be avoided.

It is not all bad news as the “mini segment” of the smallest cars has actually increased, with sales up by 47.3 percent compared to last year.

The best selling car in February by a model-by-model basis is the Ford Fiesta selling 3,260 units and has outsold rivals for the last four months.

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