Car sales defy the gloom to go up a gear

Car sales jumped 9.3 per cent last month, flying in the face of reports that cash-strapped consumers are putting off spending on big-ticket goods. Registrations rose to 143,884 vehicles in July, the fifth monthly increase in a row, driven by the private buyer market rather than fleet or business purchases.

Sales were powered by motorists buying more economical cars as petrol prices have soared and the launches of popular models such as the Range Rover Evoque, which helped take Land Rover's monthly sales up by 63 per cent.