The car brands that have seen the biggest growth over the past 20 years have been revealed using statistics from the Department of Transport.

Analysing data showing the number of new car registrations from 1998 to the present day, Regtransfers.co.uk has uncovered trends in the percentage growth of each brand.

The study shows luxury car brands are on the rise, with registrations increasing year-on-year. Brands including Porsche, McLaren and Lamborghini are among the key automotive firms stimulating the surge. Bentley has seen the biggest percentage growth over the past 20 years, particularly between 2003 and 2007, going from 172 new cars registered in 2003 to 1490 in 2007 – a 766 per cent increase. And as you might expect for a recently-launched brand, Tesla has enjoyed a considerable rise, featuring in the top three for biggest growth last year.

You can use statistics to prove anything of course, and some of the figures revealed by the study must be taken with a pinch of salt. For example, some of the starting points for new cars registered in 1998 seem extremely low to us – just 1292 Fiat cars registered in the entire year of 1998 for example.

However, what the study does indicate is MG’s resurgence under Chinese ownership. According to the study it’s had a recent growth rate of 782 per cent, making it the fastest growing car brand of 2017 in the UK. Between 2013 and 2017, the number of new cars registered went from 473 to 4171. And according to MG itself, it had already achieved over 5000 registrations by August this year – a big rise against a general market downturn.

Of course, beginning with lower volumes make any increase much more impressive in terms of a percentage, but whatever your opinion on the latest SAIC MGs, they are certainly selling well in comparison to previous years.

Adam Sloman, General Manager at the MG Car Club, said: “It’s fantastic to see a long-established, iconic British brand like MG enjoying such strong recent growth. For the MGCC it’s brilliant to have a live brand that can continue to bring new people to the Club, but also offer our members the opportunity to buy a brand new MG.”