Fifth of people 'plan to buy a car'

More than a fifth (21%) of adults in Britain are planning to buy a car in the next six months, a survey suggests.

This could equate to 9.8 million potential buyers if the figures were projected nationally and 9% of those surveyed, equating to 4.3 million people, intend to buy a new car during this period, according to the research from Sainsbury's Bank.

The latest findings suggest activity in the market could increase, when compared with a similar survey carried out six months ago which found that 18% of respondents planned to buy a car in the coming months.

Men are more likely than women to be planning to buy a car in the next six months, according to the latest survey, with 24% of men intending to make a purchase compared with 17% of women.

Men were also twice as likely as women to be looking for a new car, with 13% intending to make a new car purchase, compared with 6% of women.

The typical planned spend for a man is £11,948, while women plan to spend a more modest £8,003 on average.

Men are also more likely to rely on finance to pay for the vehicle and expect to borrow larger amounts, according to the findings.

Some 35% of men plan to borrow to finance their car, compared with 30% of women. Men also expect to borrow 20.3% of the value of the car on average, compared with 15.5% for women.

People living in Wales were the most likely to be planning to buy a car, with 26% of people there saying they intended to do this. Scotland had the smallest share of people looking to buy, as only one in six (16%) said they planned to buy a vehicle in the next six months.

Those in London and the North West are most likely to be buying a new car, with one in eight people (12%) intending to do this in both regions.