New car sales stall, says Vardy

CAR dealerships group Reg Vardy is still shifting plenty of new vehicles off its forecourts but the market as a whole is well down on last year and margins are getting tighter still, it admitted today.

Industry figures from the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders show private new car registrations in the three months to end of March 14.4% down on the same period last year. The figures reflect weaker consumer confidence, tough competition and uncertainty over the economic outlook. They are also set against record sales levels a year ago.

But, the company added, margins on new retail vehicle sales were also down when compared with the same three-month basis last year.

A subdued month's trading in March is not good news for Reg Vardy since it is traditionally the company's most important month of the year for generating profit. However the company insisted that it expected to meet City forecasts ? though these were edged downward in February after the company reported a subdued start to the first quarter.

Vardy operates some 93 dealerships across the country and specialises in a wide variety of marques from Land Rover and Jaguar to mass-market models. It has three Rover dealerships and said last month that it will incur exceptional charges following the collapse of MG Rover into receivership.

Separately, former MG Rover workers expressed satisfaction with an election day rally in Birmingham yesterday. Dozens of staff gathered to express continued concern about the plight of the more than 5,000 workers made redundant when the car maker collapsed last month.

The Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Rev John Sentamu, addressed the crowd opposite the Longbridge plant. Besides the car maker itself, numerous component manufacturers in the Midlands are reporting problems as they downgrade production and shift to find other markets for their products outside the car sector.