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Christopher Macgowan, SMMT chief executive, said:
"September has traditionally been the strongest month for registrations after March – and this year it has exceeded expectations with 419,290 new cars motoring out of showrooms. With climate change issues at the forefront of everyone's agenda, it is encouraging to note the rise in uptake of low-carbon vehicles. Motorists are increasingly playing their part in tackling environmental impact and SMMT's annual Sustainability Report, to be launched on 9 October, will highlight the progress the UK automotive manufacturing sector has made over the last eight years."

According to SMMT, technological innovation has helped car manufacturers slash CO2 and air quality emissions from vehicles. New diesel cars, for example, emit 95 percent less soot from the tailpipe than those made 15 years ago and average new car CO2 has been cut by 12 per cent since 1997.

Each vehicle made in Britain requires half the energy to produce than it did just five years ago, saving an estimated 700,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. Waste to landfill per vehicle produced has also been cut by a factor of four, from 66.4 kg in 2001 to 14.5 kg in 2005.

The sales figures also reveal that small cars continue to top the lists of popular cars, with the Fiesta coming out on top in September's sales.  Diesel registrations were also up last month at 167,031 units.