THE Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has written to the new Government in a bid to secure an agreement on alterations to the August registration plate change before next month's expected sales boom. The SMMT submitted its proposals for a twice-yearly registration plate change to the Conservative Government in March and has heard nothing from either the previous Conservative nor the new Labour administrations since.

Under the new scheme, registration prefixes would change twice a year in March and September to smooth out the traditional August sales boom before switching to an entirely new system when the current alphabetical stock of letters runs out in September 2000.

SMMT chief executive Ernie Thompson said: 'We have written to the Government appealing for a response before this August so everyone who buys a car this year knows where they stand. We would like to start the new system in March 1998.'