New car sales increased significantly last month, according to official figures following the introduction of a new number plate.

With motorists lured by the arrival of the "13" number plates, there were 394,806 new registrations in March 2013, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

This was 5.9% up on the March 2012 total and took the number of sales for the first three months of 2013 to 605,198 - a 7.4% rise on the January-March 2012 total.

SMMT interim chief executive Mike Baunton said UK new car registrations out-performed expectations in March, the first month of the new 13-plate.

"Despite ongoing economic concerns, consistent monthly growth in the market is an encouraging sign of returning consumer confidence as motorists are attracted to forecourts by new models and the latest technologies."

March was the 13th consecutive month of increased sales but optimism must be tempered by the fact that the January-March total was still more than 12% below the figure for the first three months of 2007 - the last full year before the credit crunch bit.

Registrations of petrol-fuelled cars surpassed diesels in the first three months of this year, spurred by the growth in the small car and private sector markets.