New car sales rose by more than 11 per cent year-on-year in September.

It's the third month in a row sales have increased after a rise of 6 per cent in August and 2.4 per cent in July, making September the largest month of sales in 2009.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said the success is due to the scrappage scheme, which offers buyers £2,000 off a new car in exchange for vehicles more than ten years old.

There were 367,929 new car registrations in September, 11.4 per cent more than the same month a year ago.

And scrappage accounted for 21 per cent of September's new car registrations with 77,316 units.

Chief executive Paul Everitt said: "The scrappage scheme is providing the foundation for recovery in new car registrations but there is still a long way to go.

"The recently announced extension will allow for a further 100,000 vehicles and the new criteria will open the scheme up to more consumers, helping to sustain demand through the latter part of this year and into 2010."

September is an important month for the car industry, with the new registration plate and sales worth almost a fifth of the annual total.

About 1.5 million new cars have been sold in the year to date, down by 15.5 per cent on the same period last year, the SMMT reported.

Sales of private cars drove last month's increase, while fleet and business sales were both down.

Best-selling cars of September 2009

View images and video of the most popular car of 2009 - the Ford Fiesta:

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