Rover suffered another poor month as new car sales overall roared ahead again with motorists snapping up T-registration vehicles introduced in March.

The firm, which is staking much on the launch of its new Cowley-built 75 model next month, saw its market share slipping from 8.78 per cent in April 1998 to just 5.72 per cent in April 1999.

The BMW-owned company sold 53,105 new vehicles in the UK in the first four months of this year - a 27.46 per cent dip on its January-April 1998 performance.

The firm said the run-out of high-volume models, including the Cowley-built Rover 600 and 800 and the Longbridge-built 100, as well as some niche models, contributed to the fall in sales.

In contrast the two top-selling companies - Ford and Vauxhall - both increased market share last month and also shared the top six places in the best-selling cars' table.

Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed that overall sales totalled 183,047 - a 6.6 per cent rise on April 1998.

Sales so far this year stand at 818,989 - a 3.1 per cent increase on the January to April 1998 total.

March saw the introduction of the first twice-a-year change in registration plates following more than 30 years of a single change each August. Plates will now change every March and September.

Acting SMMT chief executive Roger King said: "The figures for April continue to demonstrate the effect of the new registration plates. The new T-plates in March have caused some spill-over effect in April registrations."

The April 1999 top ten sellers were: 1 Ford Mondeo, 2 Ford Fiesta, 3 Vauxhall Astra, 4 Ford Focus, 5 Vauxhall Vectra, 6 Vauxhall Corsa, 7 Volkswagen Golf, 8 Renault Megane, 9 Renault Clio, 10 Nissan Micra.

Story date: Saturday 08 May

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.