British car sales 'drop 30% in March'

Sales of new cars in Britain plunged by almost a third in March as recession hit consumers, trade data showed on Monday and the industry lobby group said it had appealed for government help.

Industry body the Society of Motor Manufaturers and Traders (SMMT) said in a statement that 313,912 new cars were registered in March. That marked a decline of 30.5 percent from the sales figure for the same month last year.

"March new car registrations are a barometer of confidence in the economy, from businesses and consumers alike," said SMMT chief Paul Everitt in a statement.

"The fall in the market shows that government needs to do more to boost confidence," said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.

"A scrappage scheme will provide the incentive needed and the evidence is clear that schemes already implemented across Europe do work to increase demand. The UK is the only major European market not to implement a scheme."

Scrappage schemes, which have already been introduced European countries including France and Germany, are aimed at encouraging motorists to ditch older cars for new models.

The SMMT added on Monday that new car sales had nosedived by 29.7 percent in the first three months of 2009, compared with the same period of last year.

Britain's ailing carmakers, slammed by recession, had called last week for urgent assistance from the government's upcoming budget which is due in two weeks' time.

The SMMT also said it had written to finance minister Alistair Darling to request help for the country's battered auto industry to kick-start the market with tax changes and a scrappage incentive scheme.

Darling, Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, will present the government's 2009 budget before parliament on April 22.

In a further sign of a deepening recession, the British International Motor Show -- one of the main auto industry events in Europe -- has already been scrapped for 2010.