* New car registrations fell 30.9% in January to 112,087 units

* Diesel market share rose 0.7 percentage points to 45.6% - second highest rate ever

* Market expected to decline by a fifth in 2009 to 1.72 million units

* Industry continues to call on government to help stimulate demand

“There is a clear need to stimulate demand for new vehicles in the UK market. A number of EU member states have launched scrappage incentive schemes, which have the benefit of boosting consumer confidence and delivering significant environmental improvements,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. “The UK motor industry is urging UK government to introduce a similar scheme and help sustain jobs and businesses throughout the sector.”

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