One in eight car owners are serious about scrapping their car for a new one and taking advantage of the many manufacturer deals now on offer.

Data for September from independent car buying site carwow shows that the abundance of scrappage schemes being offered by the motoring industry has had a dramatic impact on the numbers of drivers now looking to switch.

Traffic to the carwow site was at record levels for half of the month, coinciding with the announcement of most of the major scrappage offers - with an 18% increase in cars configured on carwow compared to the same time last year.

Away from scrappage, drivers continued to turn their back on diesel during September. Almost two thirds of all cars configured on carwow were petrol models, but with BMW and Mercedes, traditionally dominated by diesel sales, there was a 50:50 split in interest, while Fiat sold 20 petrol models for every diesel on carwow, during Q3.

Alex Rose, head of trading at carwow, said: “The biggest winners have been brands who announced their scrappage early - Ford saw configurations jump by more than 60% in the week they announced their scheme.

“At least half of the increase in motorists coming online to configure a new car can be attributed to scrappage.

“When it comes to specific models, Skoda’s Kodiaq and Ford’s new Fiesta have both achieved their highest ever sales volumes during September.”