New cars bought on finance increased by 4% in April, according to the latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA).

The used car finance market reported 9% growth in new business volumes in April.

Consumer finance accounted for  the majority of the growth with 69,030 finance deals on new cars to a value of £1.07 billion in April. Consumer used car finance accounted for 88,741 units to the value of £893 million.

Businesses financed 38,634 new vehicles in April and 4,316 used vehicles.

The annual percentage of private new car sales financed by FLA members has been stable over the past 10 months at around 75%. In the 12 months to April 2014, it was 75%, up slightly from 74.8% in March.

Geraldine Kilkelly, FLA head of research and chief economist, said: “April was a quieter month for the car finance market following a strong performance in March.

“Consumer car finance growth remained robust, with volumes 19% higher in the first four months of 2014 than in the same period last year.

“FLA motor finance providers are optimistic about future growth prospects. The Q2 2014 Retail Motor Finance Survey results showed that more than 60% of respondents expected new business growth in excess of 10% in each of the new car, used car and light commercial vehicle finance markets over the next year.”