Car industry chiefs are going directly to the banks for help as doubts grow over a government bailout.

They are also turning to small business support schemes and regional development agencies in a desperate effort to secure more money for the industry.

The move, organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), comes as fears grow that a government rescue package could be delayed. A bailout programme expected before Christmas seems to be impeded by Treasury concerns.

Plans for an industry forum involving potential funders of all types of car company are being drafted by the SMMT amid plummeting sales worldwide. The industry trade body's figures confirmed yesterday that sales in the UK last month fell by 21 per cent compared with December 2007. Total sales in 2008, which had started off strongly, declined 11 per cent to 2.1 million.

The SMMT predicts they could fall to a low of 1.78 million this year. This would mark a 26 per cent decline from 2007's total.

Paul Everitt, the SMMT's chief executive, said: “The measures taken by Government to support the banking sector and kick-start demand have been necessary, but are not yet sufficient to restore confidence. Further action to ease access to finance and credit across the economy is essential if long-term damage to valuable industrial capability is to be avoided.”

Sue Robinson, director of the Retail Motor Industry Federation, the national franchised dealers' association, said: “The full-year new car sales figures for 2008 clearly show that demand was strong until consumer confidence dropped sharply during the final few months of the year. This highlights how important it is for government to enact measures to help boost confidence.”

Sales in December went some way to reverse the slump suffered in November, when they fell 36 per cent compared with November 2007.

The forum between the lenders and the car industry, planned for late this month, is being organised as smaller car companies struggle to access support intended to be available through government small-business schemes and regional programmes.

Mr Everitt said: “Ian Pearson [the Business Minister] asked the vehicle manufacturers to write to their suppliers, informing them about the support packages available. But many of them are now finding that the banks and some of the organisations arranging funding are unaware of the programmes available.”

He said that the difficulties car companies were finding in tapping cash “demonstrate that the machinery within the Government and the banking sector is moving far too slow”.

In a worldwide survey conducted by KPMG, the financial services firm, car industry executives made a series of gloomy predictions. The annual survey found that the number of executives expecting bankruptcies in the industry had doubled to 77 per cent. Among executives of the largest producers, 87 per cent expected more failures. One in four expect their profitability to drop between 2009 and 2013.

Car executives were also more concerned about overcapacity. Last year, 70 per cent believed that too many cars were being manufactured. This year, all those questioned said that there was overcapacity.

Uwe Achterholt, KPMG's global head of automotive, said: “Almost half of the respondents expect fluctuations in revenues or cannot estimate with confidence the profitability of their business.”

2008's slowing sales

Lexus -33%

Saab -32%

Porsche -30.6%

Land Rover -30%

Renault -29.3%

Aston Martin -28.5%

Bentley -26.5%

Honda -20.9%

Peugeot -18.7%

Citroën -16.8%

Mini -14.5%

Toyota -10.7%

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