CAR production more than halved last month compared to April last year, figures have shown.

Only 68,258 cars were produced in the UK last month, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said, a drop of 55.3 per cent on the previous year.

Commercial vehicle (CV) production fell even further, declining 65.2 per cent to only 7,655 units.

Last month’s dip means that total production for the first four months of this year is down 56.2 per cent compared with January to April 2008, while CV production is down 63.6 per cent.

The figures come as little surprise. Nissan made 1,200 redundancies at its Sunderland plant in January – nearly a quarter of its workforce – after sales of its cars plummeted amid the massive downturn in the motor industry.

Now the industry is hoping that the Government’s ‘‘cash for bangers’’ car-scrappage scheme introduced this week will kick-start production and new car sales.

Under the initiative, the Government and manufacturers share the cost of a £2,000 incentive which will be offered to owners of cars and light vans more than ten years old if they exchange them for a brand new one.

SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said: “With the scrappage incentive scheme fully operational, industry is optimistic about the positive impact this will have on the market and on UK production facilities.”