Sales figures for November will reveal that the UK car market is "in freefall", a motoring magazine has claimed.
According to Car magazine, official figures detailing retail sales to the public will show that sales slumped by 45% during November.
Car says that the figures, due later this week from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), will also show a drop in fleet sales to businesses, and that the UK market has shrunk by 37% overall.
Motor giants Ford, General Motors and Chrysler recently sought help from the US government, while UK makers and retailers asked the UK Government for access to emergency funding.
In recent days, a number of luxury brands have announced cutbacks in response to the toughening conditions. On Monday, Aston Martin announced that it may have to cut up to 600 staff, while Lexus and Porsche are among other makers to have scaled up routine breaks in production scheduled over Christmas.
Rolls Royce, which recently celebrated record sales, has announced that it will cut 40 temporary jobs at its Goodwood factory as it stops production for four weeks.
Also on Monday, data from auctioneers BCA showed a slight increase in the average value of used cars, to £4,823. However, the figure is £689 lower than the £5,512 average sale price in November 2007.
