According to the Deals on Wheels quarterly tracking study by AA Personal Loans, the percentage of people who buy cars on environmental grounds has soared from 6 per cent to 20 per cent in the last 12 months. The demand for sportier models, in contrast, is sliding.

Car manufacturers, who seem to be stuck in the dark ages of marketing cars on sex appeal and performance, need to wise up to the fact that the bulk of UK consumers want something cheap, reliable and environmentally friendly.

The AA Personal Loans study tracks demand in the automotive industry, and indicate upcoming trends in the car industry. Green cars, the AA say, are going to become more popular and more plentiful.

The director of AA Personal Loans, Lloyd East, reportedly commented: The rapid growth of the green agenda among car buyers over the last year is very significant. To date, the Chelsea Tractors have take the brunt of green attacks but in truth 4x4s make up a relatively a small percentage of cars on the road: if they were all taken off the streets tomorrow, there would still be a green agenda to tackle. With a fifth of all car buyers today going green, the environmental agenda is being driven into the heart of the motor industry – over family estates, saloon cars and people carriers.