Ford Fiesta (eans/Bigstock.com)

More than 460,000 new cars were registered across the UK in September – the best sales figure for the month on record.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported that 462,517 vehicles were sold over the month, representing a year-on-year increase of 8.6 per cent.

The car market has been growing now for 43 consecutive months. In addition, it is also the first time car sales have surpassed 2 million in the first 9 months of the year since 2004.

Year on year, the first three quarters of the year saw 2,096,886 sales – a 7.1 per cent year-on-year increase.

The Ford Fiesta remains the UK's best-selling car, having sold 100,000 so far this year. The Vauxhall Corsa and the Ford Focus came second and third respectively. The top three best-selling cars have not changed for some time.

The Mercedes C-Class, one of the best selling cars of 2015, dropped out of the top 10 - as did the Audi A3. It is possible these carmakers are suffering from a reluctance to buy diesel cars thanks to the VW scandal.

Chief Executive of SMMT, Mike Hawes, said, “The market reached pre-recession levels some time ago, and we anticipate some levelling off in the coming months. It is too early to draw conclusions, but customer demand for diesel remained strong, accounting for one in two cars registered. “

There are concerns that the Volkswagen diesel scandal will affect overall UK car sales. But most agree any dent in sales will become apparent in next month’s sales figures.

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