Last year £36.4 billion was spent on new and used cars in the UK.

This amounts to 4.5% of the total household disposable income spend in the UK, equating to an average of £1490.30 per household per year. This is a £13.8 billion rise from 1995 where the total amount spent was £22.6 billion with an average spend per household of £992.8.

Research from Halifax Unsecured Personal Loans also revealed that spending on motor vehicles has increased by 61% over the last 10 years; prices of cars on the forecourt have decreased by 6% over the last 10 years; a third of all private motorists bought a new or used vehicle during 2005; almost a quarter of loans taken by men are specifically to buy a car; one in seven women takes a loan to pay for a vehicle.

While spending on motor vehicles has increased by 61% over the past 10 years prices in general have decreased by 6%, particularly since 2001.

In 2005, 8% of all private motorists bought a new car and 25% bought a used one.

There were nearly 25 million cars on the road in 1995. This has increased by 22% to exceed 30.6 million. This equates to ownership of just over one (1.09) car in 1995 and 1.25 cars in 2005.

Annual research by Halifax Unsecured Personal Loans revealed that buying a car is the second most popular reason for taking out a loan after debt consolidation. Almost one in four loans taken by men are for this purpose, compared to one in seven for women.