The Government's "bangers'n'cash" car-scrappage scheme appears to be slowing the decline in new vehicle sales, figures show.

The number of new cars sold in the UK last month totalled 176,264 - a 15.7 per cent drop on the June 2008 figure, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

But the month-on-month fall was the smallest since July 2008.

The car-scrappage scheme - in which owners of cars more than ten years old get £2,000 off the price of a new motor when they trade in their old vehicle - was introduced on May 18, so the June figures represent the first full month when the initiative was in operation.

SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said: "We are now beginning to see the positive impact of the scrappage scheme translate into new vehicle registrations.

"We expect the pace of improvement to increase in the coming months, but we can already see the industry making steady progress on the long road to recovery."

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