By Matthew Legg Business editor

Last updated 05:41, Friday, 03 October 2008

A CARLISLE car dealership boss has described the current sales market as the most difficult he has ever known.

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Rob Lindsay: ‘We are still selling cars. We will probably end up selling 160 new Land Rovers in September, that’s not a disaster’

Rob Lindsay, dealer principal at Lloyd Motors, was speaking on the night Land Rover chose the company’s Rosehill showroom to launch a concept model.

Mr Lindsay said: “In the 22 years I’ve been in the business, this is the most difficult I’ve known.

“There’s a lack of confidence across the economy in general.

“We are in it for the long haul, though, and things will change. The good times will come again.”

Nationwide, new car sales have sunk to the lowest level since 1966, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

UK registrations fell last month by nearly 19 per cent on a year ago as drivers postponed buying new cars because of fears over the economy.

A total of 63,225 new cars were registered last month compared to 52,942 in August 1966. Some car dealers have questioned the figures, saying the launch of two new registration dates – in September and February – has meant sales in August have fallen naturally.

Mr Lindsay said Lloyd had sidestepped the worst of the carnage, though, and was continuing to do good business.

He added: “We are still selling cars. We will probably end up selling 160 new Land Rovers in September, that’s not a disaster.

“A lot of people think people have stopped buying motor cars: they haven’t, we are still busy.

“People are tending to hold onto their old cars longer, but it’s a false economy.

“They might think the longer they hold, the smaller the difference will get between the trade-in value of their old car and the price of a new one will get, but’s not the case, the gap will get bigger.

“There are a lot of good deals about. We have to sell cars, if that means we have to do a deal, we will.”

Land Rover chose Lloyd Carlisle to launch its LRX concept car, the company’s first step in the fightback against falling sales. The model is a hybrid of the traditional 4x4 Land Rover and a family car.

It is an attempt by Land Rover to arrest a steep decline in sales as public opinion turns against gas guzzling ‘Chelsea tractors’ and soaring fuel prices make running them prohibitive.

In the UK, Land Rover’s biggest market, it sold 38.3 per cent fewer vehicles this July than a year earlier, while in the seven months to July domestic sales were down 11 per cent.

Mr Lindsay said: “It’s still a concept car, but we are urging them to get it into production.

“It’s a big pat on the back for us at Lloyd to be chosen as a venue to launch it. Only 18 top dealers were chosen, it’s a real boost for us and shows how important Carlisle is to Land Rover.”

Christian Hall, finance director at Land Rover, was at Rosehill to unveil the new model.He said: “This is one of our best dealerships in the country.”