With the global economic crisis hammering the auto sector worldwide, the UK car sales again plummeted in March, a period when car sales register large volumes, thereby increasing pressure on the UK government to do more in order to boost the confidence of the auto industry.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), releasing new car sales figures for March, said that in the 11th consecutive month of falls, new cars registered last month was down 30.5 per cent from last year.

Since March typically accounts for 17.9 per cent of new car sales and is the key month since vehicles carrying the new-year's "09" plate registration first go on sale. Car manufacturers hope that there will be a surge in sales with buyers rushing to snap up cars with the new ''09'' plate.

"March new car registrations are a barometer of confidence in the economy, from businesses and consumers alike," SMMT chief Paul Everitt said in a statement.
"The fall in the market shows that the government needs to do more to boost confidence'', he added.

With the month of March having been the largest volume month in six of the past 10 years, 314,000 new cars were sold last month compared with 451,642 in March 2008.

The Ford Fiesta was the top-selling car in March at 20,654 units while the Vauxhall Corsa at 14,993 units, was second.

This year, new car sales were down by more than 200,000 units, or 29.7 per cent the SMMT said. In March, private sales fell 28.6 per cent, fleet sales were down 30.2 per cent and business sales fell 44.7 per cent.

The plight of the UK car industry was highlighted last month, when one of the main auto industry events in Europe, the British International Motor Show was cancelled.

Business secretary Lord Mandelson had unveiled a rescue package of £2.3 billion for the UK's ailing car industry in late January of which £1.3 billion was from the European Investment Bank and the remaining from the UK government (See: Britain unveils £2.3-billion loan for car industry). However, these funds have been delayed due to the tardy and lengthy procedure of the European Investment Bank. 

The UK media had reported that after the board meeting of the European Investment Bank due to be held today, JLR will receive about £280 million ($418 million) as loan from the European Investment Bank underwritten by the UK government for the making environment-friendly cars while another £500 million ($733 million) will come in the form of a loan guarantee backed by the government. (See: Tata's JLR to receive nearly £800 million from UK government)

The SMMT wants the government to announce more measures to help the auto industry in the forthcoming 2009 budget, which is to be presented to the parliament on 22 April.

With many EU nations having introduced a successful car-scrappage scheme, the auto industry in the UK will increase pressure on the government to introduce s similar scheme, which has so far been rejected by the UK Government, which said it was unsure whether such a cheme would offer value for money.

Under this scheme, the government pays consumers to replace their old cars with more environmentally friendly ones. the scrappage scheme has proved successful in Germany, where new sales registered a 40 per cent increase last month after its introduction.

A spokeswoman for SMMT said that the scrappage scheme would boost the confidence of the UK car industry and the country is now the only major European nation not to implement this scheme.