LONDON (AP) -- Car production in Britain was down 51.3 percent in March compared to a year ago, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said Friday, more evidence of the dramatic effects of the recession on the automaking industry.
For the first four months of the year, production of cars is down 56.6 percent and output of commercial vehicles is down 63 percent below last year's levels, the society said.
The government announced on Wednesday that it would join with manufacturers to offer cash incentives of 2,000 pounds to owners of cars more than a decade old who trade in on a new car. The program is set to begin in mid-May and run through March.
While welcoming that plan, the group's chief executive, Paul Everitt, forecast that "it will be some months before we see any significant increase in output."
