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The number of people planning to buy a new or used car during the next six months is at a three-year high, according to research by the Sainsbury's Finance Car Buying Index.

The survey found that 7.68 million people are planning to buy a car between September 2010 and February 2011. This represents a 49 per cent increase on the 5.14 million people for the same period this time last year.

The survey also showed that Britain's motorists plan to spend £51 billion in the next six months on new and used cars - the highest since September 2007 - and that each person expects to spend around £6,600 on their new motor.

The survey also found that one in five of these will look to finance at least part of their purchase, with personal loans expected to account for around 11 per cent (or £5.8 billion) of the total cost.

The Sainsbury's Finance Car Buying Index tracks the number of people planning to purchase a car on a six-monthly basis. The research was conducted by TNS and involved 1994 people between 30th July and 1st August 2010.

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