The vote for Brexit was just a bump in the road on the way to a three million unit new car sales market, Lookers’ boss Andy Bruce has said.

He told the Daily Telegraph: “Before June 23 we were bracing ourselves but we are able to track orders on a daily basis and comparing them against a year ago they are almost the same since the vote.

“We believe there is a long-term correlation between GDP growth and population growth and car sales.

“Over time we will cross the three million mark for new car sales – there will be bumps in the road along the way and Brexit is one of those, taking some of the growth momentum off sales – but the fundamentals remain.”

He went on to express his confidence in a strong September plate-change month. Lookers has already secured 60% for the month, he told the paper.

Bruce was talking after the AM10 dealer group released its first half-year interims yesterday which saw a record 33% rise in turnover.