Results of an SMMT-backed survey show that a quarter of motorists could buy a new car this year.

In partnership with website Yahoo! , it surveyed 6,000 people and found 23.5% are still interested in buying a car within the next six months.

Of those, two thirds were most inclined to buy a used car.

However almost half of all respondents said the scrappage scheme would encourage them to buy a new car.