Demand for so-called gas-guzzlers still remains strong in the UK - despite the fact that environmental concerns are gaining increasing prominence, a new report states.

A study from information company Experian states that "the impact of the government's attempts to make people more aware of their carbon footprints on the planet has yet to reach the car buying public" - and asserts that interest in gas-guzzlers is continuing to grow.

As overall used car sales in the UK fell, the only market segments to enjoy volumes increases were MPVs, sports cars, SUVs and luxury models.

"High performance sports cars are just as guilty of high CO2 emission as SUVs, but the SUVs seem to have taken the brunt of the negative media attention and it can be argued that this is impacting on sales," said Kirk Fletcher, managing director of Experian's automotive division.

The figures also showed that buyers were moving towards super minis away from the lower medium segment.

"These cars are not only kinder to the environment, but they are cheaper to buy and cheaper to run," Mr Fletcher added, commenting on this trend.

"Furthermore, cars with bigger engines tend to lose their value more quickly than super minis. It will be interesting to see how soon sales of super minis completely take over sales of traditional family cars like the Ford Focus."