NEW car sales in Britain have risen for the past 30 months.

More than 1.5 million vehicles have been supplied by dealers and put on our roads so far this year.

Official sales figures from the Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders show that 72,163 new cars were registered in August alone. This represents a 9.4 per cent rise on the same month last year.

August is traditionally a quiet month for our industry, coming ahead of one of the twice yearly registration changes. The plate change months (March and September) always bring an increase in new car sales, with buyers keen for their new vehicle to have the latest registration plate.

The UK’s performance in the context of Europe is particularly impressive – growth has been consistently ahead of the rest of the EU for the past two years.

The sustained rise in vehicle sales has been down to a number of factors.

I believe that consumer confidence has played a big part, as have rising fuel prices (which have driven motorists to look to less thirsty modern vehicles) and I also suspect that some purchases have been funded with compensation pay outs from PPI mis-selling, although senior industry sources discount this, preferring to attribute it to historically low interest rates.

The possibility of deflation looming in the Eurozone could potentially lead to the recovery of some European markets being slowed further.

It’s possible that consumers in those areas will delay making purchases in the hope of price reductions.

This would suggest that we will continue to see production being directed to the UK, where consumers are showing sufficient confidence to enter the market. It’s my view that the growth in sales in our region is the direct result of an increase in employment rates and the leap in confidence that brings.

Customers once again have the clarity to see the benefits of buying a brand new car over a used vehicle – not least that new cars often end up being a more cost effective option, thanks to the cheap finance rates currently being offered by the manufacturers, coupled with impressive warranty periods and enhanced fuel efficiency.