FLEETS will not be able to benefit from Rover's decision to offer a 10% reduction in retail prices until the end of this month.

A spokesman said the cut - between £900 and £2,675 off Rovers, MGs and Minis - was 'all about giving customers what they wanted' and sees the Phoenix Consortium move towards a permanent reduction in list prices of between 10 and 14% - a promise made soon after it bought the car company from BMW. A Rover spokesman said the permanent cuts would follow soon and would be applicable to fleets.

Industry analysts at CAP Motor Research as the price cuts would boost Rover's sales revenues. Chief economist Mark Cowling said: 'People do not just buy a Rover through desire and the list price fall will help company car sales a little, but they probably need to fall further to compete head-on with the Mondeo and Vectra.'

The move comes as Rover celebrates sustained sales growth, with last month's sales up 5.2% on May,1999. Overall new car registrations in May rose by 10.36% to 194,113 units (May 1999: 175,898), according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The largest increases were Audi (38.02%), Citroen (38.05%) and Daewoo (36.56%).