A government scheme set up to help UK car makers is yet to give aid to a single company, a committee of MPs has revealed.
The £2.3 billion Automotive Assistance Programme (AAP) was set up in January to provide funds for investment in future green technologies.
However, no money has been given out, and the Business, Innovation and Skills select committee has described the failure as a "wasted opportunity".
The Department for Business, which is administering the AAP, hit back, saying it was already working with 10 firms on projects worth about £2 billion through the scheme.
A spokesman for the department said: "It is important to understand that the AAP is about long-term investment projects, rather than short-term rescue.
"We have to work at the pace demanded by the companies and also have to consider the best interests of the taxpayer."
Critics of the scheme have said that its conditions are too rigid to help many firms develop future technologies.
Peter Luff, chairman of the select committee, said: "When it was announced, AAP represented a genuine opportunity to help the automotive industry, but it is now December and not a single loan or loan guarantee has been made.
"It is up to the government to prove us wrong, but they must ensure that funds are released to companies very quickly."
