The Finance and Leasing Association claimed that during November new car sales using dealer car finance were up 82% on last year. The figure, which is expected to be mirrored in December, is thought to be down to consumers trying to beat the VAT rise. New car buyers borrowerd some half a billion pounds worth of motor finance during the course of November.

Second-hand car sales using vehicle finance also increased by 4%, indicating that consumer confidence could be on the increase.

One car finance expert at Think Money was reported in the news as saying: It remains to be seen whether car finance deals will continue to increase. On the one hand, the VAT rise may discourage people from buying new cars, but on the other hand, one of the biggest problems recently seems to have been availability of car finance, which now appears to be improving.