New car registrations in Scotland in August totalled 5,235 units, an increase of 9.4% compared to August 2010 when 4,786 new cars were registered.

The UK as a whole experienced an increase of 7.3% with 59,346 units registered against 55,305 for August last year.

Douglas Robertson, chief executive of the Scottish Motor Trade Association, said: “This is our first rise in new car registrations since May of this year and, whilst the figures are small, it is a very encouraging sign in the month before the arrival of the ‘61’ plate registrations.

“We are anticipating yet another increase in September and with the range of improvements in fuel economy and finance offers available, we do look forward to consumers visiting our members’ showrooms in greater numbers in the latter part of the year.”

Vauxhall topped the registrations tally in Scotland in August with 15,595 units (2010: 16,580), Ford second with 12,490 (2010: 13,144) and Volkswagen third with 7,530 (2010: 8,510). The top selling models were Vauxhall Corsa, Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus.

> To view stats on the Scottish market click here.