Almost nine in 10 British car owners have admitted they are worried about the rising costs of living, but only 42% will delay buying a car as a result, according to a new survey from Experian.

A total of 1,016 British car owners aged 18 and over were surveyed by Research Plus on behalf of Experian.

Kirk Fletcher, managing director of Experian's Automotive division, said: "People are clearly worried about the current economic climate. However, it is interesting to find that the influence of these concerns is not as overwhelming as expected.

"People are certainly thinking about these issues when they are considering a car purchase, but not as many people as expected are actually delaying their purchase. People are still buying cars."

Of the third of UK car owners that change their cars within a three-year period, 80% admitted that they are worried about the current costs of running a car, but only 20% would actually consider delaying buying a car at the moment.

Fletcher said: "There is still an opportunity to reach the car owners who are still likely to change their cars within that three year cycle.

"The focus for dealers now is to make the most of opportunities that are already present in their businesses."