£51 billion to be spent on new and used cars in next 6 months

The number of people planning to buy a new or used car in the next six months has hit a three-year high, according to figures from the Sainsbury's Finance Car Buying Index.

The research suggests that 7.68 million are planning to buy a car between now and February 2011, a figure that represents a 49% increase on the same six-month period last year.

Results of the survey also suggest that prospective buyers will shell out a total of £51 billion on new, used or pre-registered cars over the next six months.

AM Online say that this adds up to an increase of £1.9bn on six months ago. It is also the first time since September 2007 that the planned spend on new and used cars has exceeded £50bn.

Buyers in south east England are thought to be setting aside the most cash for cars, with £11.2 billion set to be spent over the next six months.

On the other side of the coin, The Independent say that people from Yorkshire and Humberside plan to spend the least, with £1.8 billion likely to be spent on new and used vehicles.

Steven Baillie, Head of Loans at Sainsbury’s Finance, said that the figures are a positive sign for the new and used car market. He also suggested that the end of the government scrappage scheme was not damaging the industry as much as some had feared.

"We've been conducting our car buying index for the past seven years and our findings would indicate that the numbers looking to purchase a car are certainly on the up," Auto Trader quoted Mr Baillie as saying.

"We have also recorded an increase in the number planning to buy a brand new car, which is good news for the car industry as a whole as it would suggest that the end of the car scrappage scheme has not led to the feared drop-off in the number of customers wanting to buy a new car," he added.

Lorraine Louw, London, VW Polo

Ben Crane, Suffolk, Honda Civic