SALES of V-reg cars this month are likely to top 400,000 units, making September the peak month for new car registrations following this year's introduction of the twice-a-year plate change. This follows a predictable massive fall both in private and corporate sales in August while buyers waited for the V-plate launch.

In the first few days of September, 124,467 cars were registered, prompting one manufacturer, Ford, to forecast a month's sales figure of over 400,000. Sales for 1999 are expected to total 2,225,000 compared with 2,247,402 last year and a predicted 2,150,000 in 2000.

Top 10 performers in August were:

Best-selling fleet manufacturers: Ford 9.332, Vauxhall 6,725, Peugeot 4,273, Volkswagen 3,990, Renault 2,874, Fiat 2,561, Nissan 2,443, Rover 1,348, Citroen 1,115, Audi 735.

Best-selling fleet models: Ford Focus 2,815, Vauxhall Astra 2,572, Vauxhall Vectra 2,281, Ford Fiesta 2,015, Ford Mondeo 1,796, Peugeot 306 1,748, Peugeot 406 1,507, Ford Escort 1,319, Vauxhall Corsa 1,260, Renault Megane 1,226.

Best-selling fleet diesel manufacturers: Peugeot 2,200, Ford 1,389, Volkeswagen 1,204, Vauxhall 676, Citroen 376, Rover 249, Audi 225, Renault 166, Nissan 97, Fiat 79.

Best-selling fleet diesel models: Peugeot 306 1,138, Peugeot 406 746, Volkswagen Passat 459, Ford Focus 403, Ford Galaxy 317, Ford Escort 287, Volkswagen Golf 279, Ford Mondeo 278, Vauxhall Vectra 273, Vauxhall Astra 255.