Car retailer Inchcape warned today the crisis in the global automotive industry means its performance in 2009 will be "significantly" below its previous expectations.

As a result of the continuing deterioration, Inchcape said the board would not be recommending a final dividend for the current year.

Chief executive André Lacroix said: "Despite weakening trading conditions globally, we expect to report underlying results for 2008 in line with our previous expectations. The unprecedented and rapid downturn faced by the car industry around the world will [have an] impact [on] our results in 2009."

Inchcape's downbeat message saw shares in the group, which sells marques such as BMW, Mercedes, Honda and Toyota, fall almost 28% to 51p.

The company's gloomy assessment comes as the US and UK governments mull proposals to provide help for their automotive industries.

Inchcape blamed the global recession and a lack of credit for slumping sales across its markets. It added the Russian market would be hit by the increase in import duties and the prospect that a number of manufacturers would switch to dollar pricing.

"The rapid and unprecedented decline in so many of the group's markets makes it difficult to forecast our results with a great degree of certainty," the group said. "In most of our markets we now expect more substantial sales declines than previously estimated."

"We would expect our underlying results for 2009 to be significantly below our previous expectations."

Inchcape said that while it remained in compliance with its financing arrangements, it was talking to its lenders to ensure those arrangements were appropriate for the expected downturn.

Analysts at Dresdner Kleinwort said: "We reduce our sales assumptions across most territories, as well as increasing interest costs, to reflect the likely higher cost of financing. The combined impact is severe."

Lacroix said Inchcape expected that markets would recover "in due course" and added: "We believe that Inchcape is best positioned to benefit from its strong market positions and its long-standing relationships with the leading OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) in the industry."