Fleet buyers have proved themselves as the real powerhouse behind the UK economy, driving new car sales close an all-time record last month.

For the second month running, fleet buyers were at the forefront of a buying spree that offset dwindling interest from private buyers, who stayed away from the forecourts.

Latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed total registrations for October were 184,145, just 1,180 sales short of last year's record for the month.

Private buyers stayed away in droves, with sales down 6% on the same period last year at 85,939, but fleet sales were up 5.3% to 82,944 and sales in the sub-25 fleet sector were up 1.4% at 15,262.

Diesel took a record share of the October market overall at 26.8%, with total diesel registrations up 40.5% to 520,093 so far this year.

Fleet diesel sales in October were up 22.8% year-on-year at 26,916, accounting for 32.5% of fleet sales.

The best-selling diesel in October was the Ford Mondeo, with Ford also taking the best-selling diesel manufacturer, while the Ford Focus remained the top-selling fleet car overall last month, although Vauxhall took the top manufacturer slot.

This leaves the total market for the first 10 months of the year up 4.6% compared to October last year at 2,247,381.

The SMMT says record sales of 2.54 million cars now seems almost certain, beating even the most recent optimistic forecasts of 2.51 million sales.

For the year-to-date sales to private buyers are up 3.3% at 1,099,926, while fleet sales are up 5.1% at 937,300, guaranteeing another one million-plus sales year for fleet, while the sub-25 vehicle sector is up 10.1% at 210,155.

Fleet diesel sales for the year to date are up 40.5% at 273,706, accounting for more than half the diesel market and 29.2% of the total fleet market.

Ford retains the top fleet sales position, although it is less than 4,000 units ahead of Vauxhall, while the Ford Focus retains its commanding lead as the best-selling fleet car overall.

The SMMT also revealed that demand for superminis has grown by nearly 50,000 cars this year. From January to October 727,674 superminis had been registered compared to 677,704 for the same period last year.

More than one third of all registrations during October were supermini models.

SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan said: 'It is encouraging to see the market stabilise in October.

'Overall, this year has been a story of growth driven by two key segments, sales of small cars and demand for diesel models.

'The industry had expected the new car market to cool in the latter half of the year but demand remains strong.'