Despite the increasing costs of motoring in the UK, the Sainsbury’s Bank Car Buying Index indicates that the almost £70 billion will be spent on buying cars over the next six month period. This represents an increase of £6 billion over the last six-month period from the previous increase.

The research shows that the number of people planning to buy a car continues to rise, and the amount of money people are prepared to borrow on personal loans and other car finance deals also grows.

The Loans manager of Sainsbury’s Bank, Steven Baillie, said: We found that almost a third (29%) of people who intend to buy a vehicle over the next six months will finance at least some of their purchase through a loan . Indeed our findings estimate that of the total amount of money that will be spent on buying vehicles, around 18% will be financed through personal loans. This figure equates to £12.49 billion in loans, which represents a £2 billion increase on the previous six months.

He continued: Given this growing trend for car purchases to be funded by loans, motorists must make sure that they shop around for a competitive rate as they could save hundreds or even thousands of pounds in repayments. Our findings show that there are more people than ever before who are planning to buy both brand new and second hand cars, which spells good news for the automotive industry.