The delayed MoT consultation from the Department for Transport (DfT) is causing concern within the motor industry.

The study will investigate the viability of delaying the first MoT test until vehicles are four years old. They would then only be checked every two years.

Having already been delayed several times, the DfT is still unable to say when the report will be issued.

Stephen Coles, Retail Motor Industry Federation head of MoT operations, said: “Much of the MoT test sector could disappear within a year if the Government extends test intervals.”

Jim Punter, MoT Trade Forum chairman, agreed: “This is a lose-lose situation. For the industry, it will mean a huge number of people going out of business.

Drivers will have to travel further for MoT testing, and hundreds more people will die on the roads through defective vehicles.”

Coles added: “The Government needs to make its intentions towards the test clear.”