Next year is expected to be a hugely positive one for the automobile sector, in the opinion of one industry expert.

John Leech, head of automotive at KPMG, has predicted a positive end to 2013 will continue into a very successful 2014 for the sector. He explained he is confident the car industry is heading in the right direction and that both production and sales will increase in the UK in the near future.

Mr Leech noted 2013 has been a "fantastic" year for the automotive sector and the latest UK manufacturing figures prove this. In total, there were 1,286,287 vehicles produced in the country in the first 11 months of the year, which is 5.4 per cent up on the same period in 2012.

What's more, sales in this time rose by 9.9 per cent, meaning the number of cars being bought in Britain is now back at the pre-recession level last seen in 2008.

Looking ahead to 2014, Mr Leech said: "UK car production will grow again for the fifth year running as European car sales start to slowly rise once more. This should also see European car production finally turnaround and grow in 2014 for the first time in seven years."

A rise in production should also trigger a wave of automotive recruitment in both the UK and abroad, as more workers are required to get new cars built.

Mr Leech did have a word of warning though, as he said the continuation of cheap credit offers might be at risk of causing an oversupply of new cars and a lowering of the value of used vehicles, so it is well worth ensuring this does not become a reality.

He believes some 1.9 million vehicles will be produced in the UK each year by 2017, which is up by 25 per cent on 2007 levels.

It is worth noting that this rate of growth is way ahead of other major European countries such as France, Italy and Spain, which will see their production levels decline by 33, 28 and 17 per cent respectively over the ten years in question.