LONDON (Reuters) – British new car registrations fell for the fifth month in a row in August, the longest run of declines since 2011, a car industry body said on Tuesday.

Sales fell 6.4 percent to 76,433 vehicles, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) with demand for diesel cars slumping by over 20 percent.

Several carmakers, representing around three quarters of the market, have launched trade-in and scrappage schemes in recent weeks which should help to support demand in September, a month that accounts for around 15 percent of annual sales as a new licence plate series is issued.

The SMMT expects full-year registrations to end the year down nearly 4 percent at 2.59 million units from 2.69 million in 2016.