New car registrations in Britain fell 4.0% in April on a year ago, mainly as a result of the demise of MG Rover which shut down production, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said on Friday, according to Reuters.

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“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,” the news agency quoted SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan as saying.


According to Reuters, the SMMT said registrations fell to 179,457 units after a 5.1% annual drop in March to 442,940 and that leaves registrations down 6.6% year on year for the first four months of 2005.


The SMMT predicted registrations would total 2.45 million units by year-end, down on the 2.57 million units in 2004, Reuters added.

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