The demand for new cars fell by five per cent this year, while new car sales for November bombed by 11.2 per cent against November 2016.

If you're a fan of diesel, the figures are even worse - we've seen more than a 16% drop in the last calendar year, while petrol car sales have dipped by only 3.1%.

You might not be surprised to know that executive car sales led the exodus, but so too did the mini segment, with the supermini sector not far behind. So which badges are weathering the storm and which are taking a battering?

Ford's Fiesta continues to dominate the charts, selling 89,504 this year and, as the meat in a Ford sandwich, VW's Golf is following a little distance behind at 68,396. The third spot is occupied, as you'll guess, by the Focus (66,279), while Nissan's Qashqai (60,682) has pushed Vauxhall's Corsa into fifth place, selling 50,739 examples.

Looking at specific brands though, Ford has taken a hit of 8.64%, while Germany's finest have suffered, too, with BMW down 3.52% and Audi falling 1.01%.

But other European brands know greater pain. Fiat's UK sales have slumped 24.4% and DS, Citroen's lifestyle brand, has taken a hit to the tune of 42.52%.

It's not as if Japan's brands can breathe a sigh of relief (Mazda down 15.67%, Mitsubishi minus 13.46%, Subaru dropping 25.87%). So does that mean made-in-Britain brands are seeing a resurgence post the Brexit vote?

Niche maker Aston Martin surged up by 74.34%, Nissan kept in the black with a growth of 1.06%, Jaguar scored 3.82% and Land Rover returned a buoyant 5.23%.

And while the Chancellor hits diesel, the used car market is ignoring him. Sales for the last three months show diesel purchases are rising by 4.2 per cent. In fact, total sales for this year show 2017 hasn't been a bad year for selling used cars: it's grown by 0.1% with 6.1 million transactions.

Clearly, while the new market continues to be squeezed, our appetite for personal transport is still going strong. But the statistical truth lies in these details: on balance, we're more than twice as likely to spend on used wheels in 2018 than anything fresh from the packet.