The number of people planning to buy a car has increased, as has the amount they plan to spend on it, according to research by Sainsbury’s Bank.

Its research indicates that 7.85 million people intend to buy a car between September 2007 and February 2008, an increase of 200,000 people on the preceding six-month period.

The index also reveals that £58.6 billion will be spent on purchasing cars over the next half-year, representing a £5.4 billion increase on the previous March 2007 to August 2007 figures.

The latest figure works out at £8,589 per person is anticipated to be spent in the next six months.

Steven Baillie, head of loans at Sainsbury’s Bank, said: “It’s interesting to see that the significant drop in the numbers looking to purchase cars witnessed back in March appears to have been a short-term dip, with our recent findings revealing an increase in people looking to purchase a car over the next half-year. The amount people are willing to sphnd on their car purchase is also up by an average of £500 on six months ago.

"Although there would appear to have been some recovery in consumer confidence, the most recent index still represents a decrease of over £10 billion in total spend on new cars compared with the same period a year ago."

The latest index also indicates that almost one in three (31%) people who intend to buy a vehicle over the next six months will finance at least some of their purchase through a loan.

The findings suggest that of the total amount of money that will be spent on buying vehicles, around 18.5% will be financed through personal loans, which equates to around £10.8 billion, up by some £2.4 billion on six months ago.