Emissions tests leave Pendragon gloomy

SHARES in car dealership Pendragon fell 8pc yesterday after it warned over profits because of a new emissions testing regime.

Pendragon said the introduction of the worldwide harmonised light vehicle test procedure (WLTP) had caused “significant disruption” to sales of new cars and “uncertainty” over supply.

WLTP was introduced in the wake of the VW emissions scandal. However, a bottleneck in testing facilities means manufacturers have been unable to get all their cars examined, and without doing so the vehicles cannot be sold.

Official data showed that new car registrations in the UK fell by 20.5pc in September to 338,834. Pendragon said it now expects underlying pre-tax profit for the year to be £50m, down £10m on market forecasts. Its shares closed at 24.3p.