South Korean carmakers could be interested in striking up links with MG Rover dealers, according to a leading industry expert.

They are keen to increase their representation in Britain and many MG Rover dealerships are in sectors they would find attractive, according to Professor Peter Cooke, the KPMG professor of automotive industry management at Nottingham Business School.

"It will be interesting to observe whether there is rapid 'cherry-picking' of disenfranchised dealers as happened 40 years ago in the 'night of the long knives' when BLMC axed half its dealers and the Japanese brands visited most of them within a few weeks. Many are now leading Japanese franchises," he said.

He noted that MG Rover franchised outlets account for less than 5% of Britain's near 6,000 dealerships. "There are some 150 franchised MG Rover outlets operated by [the] top 200 dealer groups and it is likely the facilities will be rapidly redeployed to the franchises held by the dealer groups."

His comments accompany a review of changes in automotive distribution over the past decade, which was completed before the announcement of administration.

In the main report Prof Cooke concludes that the car dealership sector is consolidating, with the top 200 dealerships accounting for 48% of the total compared with about 32% in 1994. But with the biggest dealership still accounting for only 5% of the market Prof Cooke is expecting the trend to continue.

· Former MG Rover workers staged a rally outside the Longbridge plant yesterday to protest about the 5,000 employees made redundant.