Best sales in 20 years at car firm Caterham

CATERHAM has toasted its best sales in 20 years after customers snapped up its Seven range.

The British sports car specialist sold more than 600 of the Caterham Seven model last year – its best result since 1996.

Britons snapped up more than 55pc of them, while the French and Japanese made up the bulk of vehicles shipped overseas.

The group, which has been selling cars since 1973, said the EU referendum result had no impact on its exports and they had remained ‘consistently strong’ throughout the year.

It sold more than 100 Sevens in France and more than 60 in Japan, and said customers were particularly drawn to its Seven 310 and retro Seven Sprint models.

The latter proved particularly popular and made up 10pc of total sales, after all 60 samples sold out at its launch.

Caterham, which makes all its models in the UK, has a reputation among sports car enthusiasts for its low costs, with prices ranging from £16,995 to £50,490.

Graham Macdonald, chief executive, said: ‘Despite the political change, as we forecasted, Brexit’s impact on our business has been negligible.’