New car finance provided through dealerships recorded double-digit growth for the tenth consecutive month in October, according to the latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA).

The number of new cars financed by private consumers increased by 40% compared with October last year, while the number of used cars financed by consumers grew by 15% over the same period.

Finance sold in dealerships is now used by 70.2% of all consumers who buy a new car. The market share was 64.2% in January of this year.

The use of motor finance by businesses also saw a significant jump in October with the number of new and used cars financed up by 18% and 204% respectively.

Paul Harrison, head of motor finance at the FLA, said: “2012 has been a spectacular year for car finance. Over 70% of consumers now turn to their local dealership and motor finance providers to fund their new car purchase.

“We expect this figure to approach the 75% mark in 2013. The used car market is also performing well as the range of attractive finance packages are extended to those buyers.”