Motorists are buying smaller cars

• 4x4 sales dip 18% in a year
• Supermini sales rise by 12%
• Diesel sales up 8.4%

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Motorists are buying smaller cars in the face of higher fuel prices and road tax.

New registrations of 4x4s last month dipped by 18% compared with May 2007, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

In contrast, supermini sales rose by 120% last month, highlighting that car buyers could be becoming more conscious of their cars' running costs. Diesel sales rose by 8.4% in the same period, too.

Overall, car sales dipped by 3.5% from April.