Bradford motor dealers have given a cautious welcome to national figures which suggest an acceleration in new car sales.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) released figures suggesting new car sales increased last month. They found 143,884 new registrations were made in July 2012, which is a 9.3 per cent increase on the total in July last year.

A spokesman for JCT600 Group, Bradford said: “The rise in figures is definitely true for us by quite a large percentage based on our July figures for last year. Across the board with July 2011 versus July 2012 there was a 70 per cent increase in new car sales.”

Malcolm Coen, branch manager at Colin Appleyard Cars, Shipley , agreed certain new car model sales had increased, he said: “Customers are more conscious of motoring costs and go for low emissions and low tax.

“Sales have increased for certain manufacturers on vehicles with smaller engines. Suzuki especially has seen an increase in new car sales compared to last year.”

According to SMMT new car sales for the year so far has reached 1,201,564 which is a 3.47 per cent rise on the January to July 2011 total. The rise in July is said to be the fifth monthly increase in a row and the biggest of the year to date.

However Sam Jeyaraman, sales executive at the Co-operative Motor Group Nissan, Thornton Road, said: “More people are leasing cars more than they ever did before. New car sales figures are going down and are nowhere near what they used to be. Patterns of spending have changed.”

Kevin Mitchell, salesman at Stanley Cars Ltd, Canal Road, said: “It isn’t buoyant but used car sales are quite strong at the moment.”

Paul Everitt, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: “New car registrations rose 9.3 per cent in July, continuing the upward trend seen during recent months.

“SMMT’s full-year forecast is for 1.97 million cars to be registered during 2012 suggesting a slight slowing of demand in the second half of the year.

“International economic stability remains a concern for vehicle manufacturers and the UK market, but intense competition and new fuel-efficient products are creating great opportunities for motorists.”