But dealers in the province told last night how they are pulling out all the stops to keep the car sales market here buoyant and ride out the current credit crunch — by offering more efficient, keenly priced and low emission cars.

UK-wide sales figures collated by the motor manufacturers showed 83,425 new sales to private customers were completed during June, down by 11,292 on the same month last year.

And overall sales, including company cars, dropped to 209,190 in June, a fall of 6.1%.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has blamed the credit crunch, especially higher fuel costs and food prices.

Demand for diesel cars, however, remained strong, even though the cost of that particular fuel is racing ahead of unleaded petrol, with BMW's 3-Series (at £23,870) June's highest-selling model.

In Co Armagh, Shelbourne Motors of Portadown have agencies for Renault, Nissan and Toyota.

Managing-director Caroline Willis said: "No dealer can say things are easy at the moment, but we have to work hard with our loyal customer base and hold the line.

"For example, our recent expansions have meant we have taken on eight new staff recently, but times are difficult in the car trade, although messages of gloom in the media are often wide of the mark."

However, SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt underlined the "slower demand for cars", adding: "There are concerns about rising fuel bills and household costs. The slow-down is not unexpected, but signals an increasingly tough retail environment.